Royal Delivery
by Megami.Ze
Summary: Royal Delivery...or Royal Pain In The Ass? Temari and Shikamaru are assigned to escort a prince from the Land of Geysers back home. What they didn't know is how annoying he was! Can they get him home with their sanity still intact? R&R! SxT. JxT implied
1. Chapter 1: How Bad Could He Be?

_Finally, I'm back._

_It has taken a long time for me to get writing again, and then yesterday I had this idea, and I just had to write it! And this, my friends, is the result! I really hope you enjoy it because I am rather proud of myself. Oh I have a few notes. Temari and Shikamaru are both jounins, and Shikamaru is 18, Temari is 20. (Their age difference is actually 2-3 years :O). Oh and the inspirtation, yes. :)_

_This story was inspired by the numerous amazing works by lovesrainscent. She is amazing, and I love her work. This story is somewhat dedicated to her. It is my first shot at Jiraiya/Tsunade. And I added it in for her and my friend. :)_

_Oh and yes, you can't see him yet, but the prince is inspired by IbikiTeishi's prisoner in his/her fantastic story Mind Splinters. :) Prince is quite like him, you'll see. _

_Now without further a do. Please Enjoy! :D_

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**Royal Delivery**

**Chapter One - How Bad Could He Be?**

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"Hokage-sama!" Shizune pleaded whilst trying to dodge a flying chair, "please do not throw things!" Tsunade ignored her and flung the table so that it went clean through the wall. Shizune managed to scamper out of the room, Tonton in hand, before she was impaled with a desk.

"Oh dear," remarked a passing Jiraiya, noticing Tsunade's apprentice sitting in a foetal position with her arms braced over her head and a pig curled up behind her. Shizune looked up towards the legendary sannin.

"Jiraiya-sama! Oh thank goodness! Please, you have to calm Tsunade-sama down; you are the only one who can do it effectively…when you want to." Shizune held onto Tonton who was still hiding from danger.

"I see," Jiraiya chuckled, "so, how much sake has Tsunade-hime had today?"

"Only one cup," replied Shizune, dusting off her yukata.

"Wow, that's pretty unusual."

Jiraiya and Shizune popped their heads through the big destructive hole the table had made.

"Jeez, Tsunade, you've made quite a mess," he commented cheerfully. Shizune grimaced.

"FUCK YOU, Jiraiya!" Tsunade shouted and hurled another chair, this one aimed at his head, with her superhuman strength. Both Shizune and Jiraiya ducked behind the wall, knowing full well from experience how good Tsunade's aim was.

And, like always, her aim was still top notch as the chair burst through the hole, breaking off at least two feet of wall where Jiraiya's head had been, and lodged itself into the corridor wall. Tonton climbed into Shizune's shirt in fright. Jiraiya calmly walked into the room from the hole. Shizune could hear things being thrown at Jiraiya (and see barrages of flying objects smash into the wall in front of her).

When the barrage of things had stopped, Shizune took her chances and peered into the room.

Jiraiya had managed to grab hold of Tsunade's fist in an effort to keep her from rearranging his face and hurling objects at over a hundred miles an hour. Tonton carefully stuck her snout out of the dip in Shizune's yukata to see if the storm had subsided. Tsunade was pink tinged with anger and growled, realizing Jiraiya wasn't going to let go.

"Tell me what happened," Jiraiya sighed quietly.

"Somehow we've managed," Tsunade pulled her arm away vigorously. "to get royalty locked up in our ANBU prison."

"Royalty? From where?"

"A small far off country that doesn't use the kage system – the Land of Geysers, I think it was," Shizune spoke up. She pulled Tonton out of her yukata and held the pig in her usual manner seeing as Tonton had calmed down.

"Land of Geysers? I thought that their king would never leave his country."

"He won't, but it's not him. It's the prince." Tsunade rubbed her temples.

"I didn't even know they even had a prince," Jiraiya commented.

"Yeah, well as it happens, neither did we," Tsunade growled. Jiraiya pulled two pieces of furniture out of the wall behind him and offered one to Tsunade so she could sit down.

"What are they demanding?" He asked seriously.

"They want the prince back right away or else they'll declare war or worse-" Tsunade looked terrified. "-sue the country!"

"How is that worse?" Jiraiya asked no one in particular.

"Price of sake will go up," Shizune replied deadpan.

"Ah," Jiraiya commented knowingly. He had been with Tsunade long enough to know that:

Tsunade + Sake = Good.

Tsunade + No Sake = Death.

"So, Tsunade-hime, what is your plan of action?"

Tsunade closed her eyes and thought for a minute, trying to nurse her headache that was forming quickly. It took another minute of silence and Tonton tapping her leg before she came up with a solution.

"Get me Shikamaru and Temari."

x. .X. .x

"Why does the Godaime want to see us?" Shikamaru asked Shizune. He and Temari were walking side by side in the corridor with Shizune to the Hokage's office.

Temari opted for silence. She quietly listened to the sounds of the footsteps from Shizune and the young man next to her.

"Tsunade-sama called for you, I don't know her reasoning," Shizune replied.

"How troublesome, that doesn't explain anything," Shikamaru commented in his usual lazy drawl. Temari gave off a little smirk. He always amused her, him knowing about it or not.

Shizune chanced a glance at the pair. It was unusual how Temari was so quiet when dealing with business, she was always like that, until Shikamaru was placed with her, as her guide that is. She almost opened up… in a way.

Shizune heard their footsteps stop and turned around to find that both Shikamaru and Temari were staring at the massive hole in the wall. Shikamaru scowled and muttered something under his breath.

"For once I agree with you," Temari stated calmly. She walked in between the scattered debris and chunks of furniture and wall. Shikamaru sighed and leant back. He turned his head to Shizune.

"Having a bad day?"

"More than you know…" Shizune replied.

"Fantastic."

Shikamaru lazily followed Temari into the Hokage's office, hearing Shizune run off down the hall, probably trying to find someone to fix this new impromptu doorway.

As soon as he was on the other side he was greeted by Tsunade.

"Good, you two are finally here." Tsunade stood up from her desk to address them. Judging by its damaged state Shikamaru guessed that it had been a wall ornament not too long ago. "We don't have time to chit chat," Tsunade barked. Temari noted the other legendary sannin who was outside sitting on the roof.

"This morning, I was informed that Prince Kurono, current royalty of the Land of Geysers, was being held in our ANBU prison."

"ANBU prison? How did he end up in there?" Shikamaru asked, slightly horrified.

"Shikamaru's right, that is quite a screw up," Temari added.

"I don't even know. I haven't had time to find out the identity of the jackass who is responsible for getting Konoha into this mess!" Tsunade shouted.

"It's probably Naruto," Shikamaru stated lazily. Temari gave him a quick glance then looked back to Tsunade.

"Well… that is highly possible…" Tsunade thought out loud.

"And he _is _an idiot," Temari replied with a grin she couldn't suppress. Shikamaru couldn't help but glance at Temari and give a grin of his own.

"She has a point."

"Yes… but anyway, that's not why I called you both here." Temari, and even Shikamaru, straightened up their postures. "I'm giving you two an A ranked mission to escort the prince to the Land of Geysers. You have approximately three days before the Geyser Country takes action, so you must be swift. Do you understand?" Tsunade asked sternly.

"Hai, Tsunade-sama," They answered in unison.

"But… I do have two questions… about the mission."

"Yes, what is it Shikamaru?"

"Firstly, why were we chosen? Secondly why do Temari and I have to do the mission together?" Tsunade sighed. "Not that I mind working with her!" Shikamaru added quickly when Temari raised an eyebrow at him.

"Jeez, Nara, you ask too many questions," Tsunade rubbed her temples. "Firstly, this mission requires at least two jounins, considering you are escorting the prince and that no harm what-so-ever can come to him. But currently, we are a little short on high ranking ninja. We only have a few pairs active and waiting for orders. And since Hyuuga Hinata is still chuunin, she and Inuzuka Kiba could not go. Naruto is adamant about training, as is Sakura, and… well, you get the point."

"That still doesn't answer my second question." Tsunade glared at Shikamaru. Temari sighed indifferently.

"You two are going _because _you work great as a team. You have a high standard of intelligence in battle, which is necessary if high ranking thieves or rogue nins want to capture the prince… and well… you just have great chemistry together."

"Huh? Wha-" Shikamaru began.

"Enough!" Tsunade barked. Shikamaru grumbled in protest. Temari nudged him.

"Is that all, Tsunade-sama?" Temari asked.

"Yes, please leave right away." Tsunade sat up from the corner of her desk. Some time when she was talking she had sat down on it. "And Shizune?"

"Hai, Tsunade-sama?"

"Find out who the jackass is that got the prince locked up in the first place!"

"H-hai!" Shizune quickly scuttled out of the room. Tsunade turned to address the pair.

"You two are dismissed," Tsunade said. She bent over and picked up Tonton, placed the pig on her lap and began stroking her ears in an effort to calm down herself.

The two jounins nodded and headed out the hole in the wall. Temari roughly stepped over the debris and laughed to herself as she and Shikamaru entered the corridor.

"What?" Shikamaru asked, intrigued by her musical laugh. He placed his hands in his pockets.

"Nothing really… it just," she directed her gaze to the hole in the wall. "Looks like something I would do," she remarked simply.

"And I prey to Kami that you don't."

"Aww," Temari grinned devilishly. "You're no fun at all."

"Hmph." Shikamaru somewhat contained a smile.

Both Shikamaru and Temari exited into the bright daylight of Konoha together.

x. .X. .x

After they had collected their equipment for their mission, both of them decided that having lunch before they left would be a nice luxury… for a change. They both agreed on a small restaurant a few blocks away from the entrance, so they could leave as soon as they were done. (And it had totally nothing to do with the fact that the place was hidden from view of the Hokage Tower… totally.)

Temari flipped through the menu. She ran her eyes through all the different dishes.

Shikamaru held his chin in his hand and looked at her teal eyes moving from left to right. She always fascinated him, almost everything about her. He noted that she was making a tough decision because of the small frown he saw in her eyes. He was always so intrigued by her eyes, how they changed colour when she felt a different emotion.

"Tough choice?" He asked with cheerful interest.

"Yeah, but I've decided," She responded, placing her menu down. She clicked her fingers at the waitress.

The waitress stalked over to them, not appreciating being called like a dog. Temari ordered their meals and shooed her off.

"I don't think she appreciated that," Shikamaru remarked.

"To be honest, I really don't care very much," Temari replied, making a passé gesture with her hand. She took a long sip through her straw.

"Figured as much," Shikamaru gave a grin, and took a long sip from his drink as well.

"So, what kind of person do you think this prince is going to be?" Temari asked nonchalantly. She stirred her drink with her straw, listening to the sound the ice made.

"Well, he is probably going to be a bit "high and mighty". Definitely see us as lowly servants. A bit of an idiot I assume." Shikamaru silently thanked the waitress who delivered their food.

"Yeah, I thought the same. Hopefully he isn't one of those princes who think they can buy _everything_…" Temari picked up a piece of bread and dipped it in her vegetable soup.

"What do you mean exactly?" Shikamaru asked. He followed suit, picking up his spoon in place of bread.

"I mean, I hope he doesn't try and buy me," Temari remarked with a smirk. She popped the piece of bread into her mouth. Shikamaru let out an amused laugh. "No, I'm serious." Temari couldn't help but begin laughing too-his laugh was infectious. "I have dealt with a prince that tried to buy me…_buy _me," She repeated with a grin. Shikamaru was still laughing to himself.

"That's pretty funny. But at least I can understand why. Let's just say they don't make women stick figures in Suna," Shikamaru commented happily, giving her body a quick once over.

"Damn right," Temari smiled at him. (Shikamaru noted her eyes were sparkling.)

Shikamaru felt another presence near him and turned his head to see Naruto, poised in a perfect mid-running position: one foot above the ground, one planted on the ground, his mouth hanging slightly. Come to think about it, Shikamaru remembered some loud running which stopped when he replied to Temari.

Temari seeing Shikamaru being distracted by something else turned to see what he was looking at. She stared at Naruto with a raised eyebrow, noting his unusual stop of all movement… in the middle of the road.

"Can we help you, Naruto?" Shikamaru asked throwing an arm over the back of his chair. Naruto just stared between Temari and Shikamaru a few times, and replayed what Shikamaru had said through his mind a few times. And then, he glared at them.

"Not dating my ass."

"NARUTO, GET BACK HERE!" At the sound of his name being shouted Naruto suddenly jumped back to life and darted down the road and around the corner. Away from what appeared to be several ANBU officers.

"I didn't mean to, 'ttebayo!!" Naruto wailed in the distance.

"COME BACK, NARUTO, HOKAGE-SAMA WANTS TO SEE YOU!"

Temari looked at Shikamaru, with her mouth still filled with soup, and he looked at her. Temari couldn't contain the upcoming laughter. She almost chocked on her mouthful of soup.

Shikamaru and Temari burst out laughing. Temari had to press a napkin to her mouth and swallow before she could openly laugh.

"Well, then, I guess, Naruto _was _the one who got the prince locked up in the prison!" Shikamaru said through laughs.

"How _did _we know?" Temari answered on the verge of tears. After their laughter had subsided and they had finished their meals, Shikamaru paid (They argued a bit about who would pay, but Shikamaru insisted that he, being the man, should pay) and they left the restaurant still giggling a bit about Naruto's idiocy.

"So, we might as well fetch the prince. How bad could he be?" Temari said cheerfully.

x. .X. .x

Tsunade sat on the roof next to Jiraiya. That in itself was a rare occasion. She let out a frustrated sigh.

"Waiting on the ANBU?"

"Hai, they're fetching Naruto as we speak." Tsunade rubbed her eyes; her headache had gotten much worse. Jiraiya handed her a cup of sake.

"Here."

"Thanks." Tsunade took the cup and downed it in one gulp, feeling the alcohol burn down her throat.

"Dy'think it was wise, sending those two out together?" Jiraiya asked after a moment of silence.

"What do you mean; they are excellent strategists, the two of them."

"That's not what I meant. The chemistry is there. Do you think it was a good idea placing them together…? I mean, look what happened to us." Jiraiya said seriously.

"I get what you mean. But…" Tsunade put her head on Jiraiya's shoulder in a moment of weakness. "Would that really be so bad?"

x. .X. .x

"I'm going to report you to my father, for manhandling royalty!"

"Oh great."

"You just _had _to say it, didn't you?"

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_And that my friends, is the first chapter. :) _

_I am busy wo**r**king on Chapter two, and my fri**e**nds are gi**v**ing my compl**i**ments about it, so I'm gu**e**ssing it's not that bad. =D **w**oot!_

_(subliminal messages, anyone?)_

_p.s. thank you to Randomonium for the ipeccable editing and grammar corrections! I know you shout at me cause you luff me. :p  
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	2. Chapter 2: Moonflowers For A Prince?

_Konnichiwa, everyone._

_This chapter is dedicated to Kakashi T-T me and Bob are in deep mourning, word from Bob – I'm getting an ANBU tattoo! Partly in memoriam! I don't like talking about it, it depresses me. *sad face*_

_I'm pretty proud of myself for getting this up so fast, and I had a lot of fun. I hope it flows well. Enjoy ;D_

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**Royal Delivery**

**Chapter Two – Moonflowers For A Prince?**

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"You just _had_ to say it, didn't you?" Shikamaru asked venomously.

"Say what?" Temari asked. She frowned at the tone he was using with her.

"You just _had _to say 'how bad could he be?'"

"I didn't foresee this obviously!" Temari defended loudly, gesturing to the small royal heir in front of them.

"I will have you arrested for manhandling royalty!" The prince cried (again). The ANBU, not even the least bit phased, simply dropped Kurono in front of Shikamaru and Temari. "Stupid jerks! I don't like your masks!" He shouted childishly.

"Here," said an ANBU officer. He wore a tasteful silver and ruby crow mask.

"Thanks…" Shikamaru replied warily. The other ANBU officer with a sapphire and amethyst wolf mask put his hand on both Shikamaru and Temari's shoulders.

"Good luck." He sounded like he truly meant it. "This prison complex has never been so noisy."

"Great…" Temari growled. The ANBU officers nodded disappeared from sight, happily leaving the jounins alone with the Geyser Country royalty. "Hey kid." Kurono crossed his arms and glared at Temari. She didn't even flinch. "A kid's glare doesn't scare me. How old are you anyway?"

"I am not a kid! I am ten years old!" Kurono shouted at Temari. Shikamaru faced her.

"Yeah, _so _not a kid…" Shikamaru commented sarcastically. Temari turned to look at him with a 'please shoot me' look imprinted on her face.

"You have _got _to be shittin' me."

"Hey lady, I'm reporting you to my father for using abusive language in front of royalty!" Temari groaned. Shikamaru did too.

"Wish I was." Shikamaru truly meant it.

x. .X. .x

"Shizune, please go and check to see if we have another message from Geyser. I don't want any information getting lost. This problem must have all your priority until it is solved," Tsunade ordered. "Is that understood?"

"Hai, Tsunade-sama!" Considering this her new mission, Shizune bowed and left the office swiftly. Tsunade's second apprentice stepped forward.

"Shishou, I have finished my training for the day," Sakura informed professionally.

"Good work, Sakura. You have been working very hard. I'm proud of you." Tsunade smiled at her. Over the years Tsunade had become very attached to Sakura. It felt like she was her younger sister. Tsunade was very proud and interested to see Sakura's strength continue to improve.

"Arigatou, Tsunade-sama." Sakura smiled at her master brightly, her cheeks almost the same colour as her hair. "Shishou… if you don't mind me asking…"

"Hmm?" Tsunade questioned.

"I know it's important that we get Prince Kurono home regardless, but, why are we bending to the will of the Geyser Country? I know it's respectful, but it's a very hard feat for us to get him there in 3 days," Sakura asked, standing firmly in front of her master.

"I understand what you are trying to ask, Sakura. The Geyser Country is a small country and that usually would play as no threat to a nation like the Fire Country, but the Geyser Country is a very wealthy country, and because of that wealth they are a valuable asset to us that we cannot afford to lose."

"I see… that is problematic then." Sakura frowned. She twirled a finger in her short pastel pink hair. "Shishou, would you like any help with some of your work?" Sakura asked sweetly. "You look awfully tired; Jiraiya-sama has even mentioned it."

Tsunade was indeed tired. She had been up since 5 o'clock that morning dealing with their royal problem. And she had also gone to bed late the night before due to an ANBU meeting that ran long.

"Hai, a cup of sake and some help sounds great." Sakura smiled at her, glad to help. Tsunade growled. "All this work is going to give me wrinkles." Sakura bit back an comment about if the sannin didn't alter her appearance she would already have wrinkles. But Sakura valued her head and kept quiet. "Can you please map out a route to Geyser for me? I forgot to give one to Shikamaru and Temari."

"Hai."

Sakura pulled out a map and information book about the local areas from one of the shelves and began plotting the quickest route to the Land of Geysers. After they had been working for no less than five minutes Shizune opened the door and peered inside.

"There were no messages sent… and… ano…"

"What is it Shizune?" Tsunade asked harshly, finishing the last few drops of her sake in her cup.

"Ano… we have Naruto-kun."

"Bring him in." Sakura sighed. She could almost feel Tsunade's dark aura.

Jiraiya and an ANBU officer emerged holding a struggling Naruto by the arms and roughly dropped him. Naruto looked up and the Godaime and whimpered.

"Crap."

x. .X. .x

"What do you mean you 'won't walk'?" Temari growled.

"I won't walk! The ground is dirty!" Kurono huffed.

"It's a _dirt _road!" Temari shouted, "Of course it's dirty!" Shikamaru placed his fingers together in his thinking "seal".

"Well, I won't walk on it! Royalty does _not _get dirty!" The prince insisted stubbornly.

"I don't _care_ if you won't walk! I'll just carry you!"

"I'll scream."

"Go right ahead, kid." Temari leaned down so her face was in front of his. "Cause your voice will wear out eventually." Temari smirked as she saw the prince fume because he didn't know how to counter her. Then his face brightened.

"I'll report you to my father for disrespecting and neglecting royalty!" Kurono grinned triumphantly. Temari felt like she wanted to cry for the first time in her life.

"Shikamaru…" She begged.

"I know, I know." Shikamaru broke his concentration. "I think I have a solution."

"You do?" Temari asked with a raised eyebrow. Shikamaru nodded.

"I think we should use one of the imperial bulls. Their stable is just down the road _and _we _do _have royalty with us."

"Hm, worth a shot." Temari leaned down and grabbed the prince.

"What are you two- hey! What are you doing? Put me down!" Kurono was effortlessly draped over the Suna kunoichi's shoulder. "You're manhandling royalty!!" He whined.

Temari took no notice of the kicking and screaming ten year old. She felt Shikamaru's gaze on her.

"What?" She asked.

"Was that really necessary?" Shikamaru questioned.

"I have no patience for kids like him," she answered simply as she led Shikamaru to the stable. Shikamaru watched the prince beat his small fists on Temari's back in a form of protest to being treated like a sack of potatoes (It didn't appear to affect her.)

"Troublesome brat…"

"The stable smells bad."

"Don't care," Temari sighed. She walked over to a dark brown bull with impressive horns and nearly threw the prince into the carriage. "Get in, familiarize yourself with it, whatever, and just stay here while we go sign out this bull." Temari turned around and walked to Shikamaru, almost collapsing on him.

"This kid is going to be the fucking death of me," she groaned. Shikamaru finished filling out the form and handed it to the stable watcher.

"I hope not, I'm quite fond of you."

"Aww, the Nara can be sweet." Temari pinched his cheek. Shikamaru frowned.

"We might as well get going, better now than never… I guess." Temari began packing their equipment and supplies onto the bull, making sure everything was secured safely. Shikamaru held onto the reins gently and the bull followed calmly. Temari adjusted the fan on her back. She walked to Shikamaru's side.

"This ought to be fun."

"Hn," Shikamaru grunted.

He unknowingly allowed a scowl onto his face. He could hear the royal heir making snide remarks about the carriage from inside. Shikamaru glared at the closed door of the carriage. Why did he have to be so difficult? He could be difficult with him, sure; hell, Shikamaru was used to troublesome individuals, but did the prince have to be rude to Temari? She had to go through with a lot every day, more than he would ever have to go through. She had to lead her team, teach at the academy and look after her brothers when she was in Suna. She didn't deserve this kind of kid.

Shikamaru's train of thought was disrupted by a strange squishy feeling from under his foot. It felt a little bouncy, and it was soft- yet strangely hard under all that softness. He looked down and saw a bright green and yellow toad positioned under his foot. It gave out muffled croaks of protest and thrashed its arms around.

"What the-" Shikamaru lifted his foot and the toad instantly shot onto his face. Shikamaru let out a muffled yelp of surprise, startling the toad that then jumped onto the top of his head.

Temari spun around to look at Shikamaru quickly, startled from all the noise. She spotted a grumpy looking Shikamaru with a bright green toad sitting on his head. She laughed at him.

"It's not funny," he argued and avoided her gaze, his cheeks gaining a pink tinge.

"It kinda is," she replied with a giggle. She carefully picked up the toad and held it against her chest gently. "It's quite cute," she said, her voice filled with humour.

"You too, doll face," The toad croaked.

"ACK!" Temari's arms shot out and held the toad as far away from her body as possible. She started at it for a few moments and came to a logical conclusion.

"It must be a summoned creature."

"Yeah, I'm pretty certain he's Jiraiya's."

"Why are you stalking us?" Temari asked harshly.

"Hey, don't get all hostile on me; I just came to deliver something from someone called Sakura," the toad croaked again.

"Oh?" Temari replied, marginally more interested. She brought the toad closer to her chest and pulled a small scroll off of his back.

Shikamaru looked at the toad and saw it waggling its non-existent eyebrows at him and looking generally pleased with his position in relation to Temari's body. Shikamaru felt his eyebrow twitch slightly. He never thought he would want to punch a toad. Surely that was animal abuse? What was wrong with him?

"Hey, Shikamaru, it's a map."

"To?" He asked looking over her shoulder.

"Land of Geysers. According to the footnote, Godaime forgot to give us the map when we were in her office."

"Well, at least we know where we're going now," Shikamaru said. He put his hands in his pockets, along with the map that Temari had just given him.

"Ok, scurry along, little frog." Temari leant over and put him on the ground. She heard the toad wolf whistle. She attempted to step on him. The toad dashed off into the distance.

"No doubt about it, he was definitely Jiraiya's," Shikamaru commented.

"This carriage smells bad!" Came a loud cry from the carriage. Kurono opened the door and glared at them. "You." He pointed to Temari. "Fix it."

Shikamaru could almost feel the murderous intent radiating off of her. His brain jumped into action.

"Why I oughta…" Temari was ready to lunge. Shikamaru stepped in front of Temari so that she crashed into him instead. Shikamaru felt her rather developed chest squish into his, making him feel quite uncomfortable.

"Before you kill him, I have a plan…"

x. .X. .x

Ino hummed happily to herself as she leaned across the counter, in her flower shop, playing with the silver and aqua butterfly ring on her right ring finger.

Ino was in a happy mood this afternoon and nothing could bring her down from it today. She plucked a small white rose from the flower arrangement on the counter and placed it behind her ear.

She heard a light tinkling noise of the shop's bell that sounded whenever the door was opened. Ino turned her gaze to the door.

"Konnichiwa, Shikamaru!" Ino chirped brightly. "Oh, and Temari-san, how nice to see you again," Ino added after she saw Temari step into the shop after he teammate.

"Likewise," Temari replied, trying her best to smile. Shikamaru just nodded to Ino in his form of greeting.

"So, what can I do for you today?" Ino asked.

"I need to buy a bunch of your most fragrant flowers." Ino raised an eyebrow at him and placed her hands on her hips while looking between the pair.

"Honestly, Shikamaru, how unromantic," she scolded. Temari looked slightly amused at Ino. Shikamaru slapped his palm into his face.

"Ino, I wouldn't buy flowers for Temari if she was already with me."

"Oh, so you would buy her flowers if she wasn't with you?" Ino teased. Shikamaru groaned and slammed his head on the counter muttering 'troublesome' at random intervals. Ino giggled at him.

She was one of the many people that thought they were a couple, or at least should be one! The chemistry was undeniable and she just knew (although it was yet to be confirmed) that Shikamaru had feelings for the Suna kunoichi.

"Alright, I'll get you some moonflowers." Ino smiled at them.

She walked into the backroom where all the flowers were kept.

"So, how is Chouji doing?" Shikamaru's voice came from the other room.

"He's doing well, from what I can tell," Ino replied while picking twenty moonflowers from out of the bucket. "And things are going well between us too!" Ino just had to add. She walked back to the counter.

"Well, that's good." Shikamaru commented. Ino nodded and sighed dreamily.

"He got me this ring for my birthday, isn't it lovely?!" She squealed. Shikamaru agreed sheepishly; he knew nothing about jewelry. That was good enough for Ino though. "Oh, and thanks for the earrings, Shikamaru, they are really pretty." Ino was referring to the pair of silver tear drop earrings Shikamaru had gotten her for her birthday.

"Don't worry about it, but Temari had to tell me what to buy. I don't know anything about women." Ino laughed at him.

"Well then, thanks, Temari-san." Temari gave her a small smile.

"Anyways, here are your flowers." Ino placed a neatly wrapped bouquet of pure white moonflowers on the counter for Shikamaru. They had a heavenly scent.

"How much do I owe you?" Shikamaru asked. Before Ino could reply, the shop door burst open to reveal a small child with dark brown hair.

"What is taking so long?! I demand to know!" Shikamaru groaned and hit his head against the counter again. "Are you doing something about the smell?!" The prince demanded. Temari glared at him.

"As a matter of fact, we are," Temari snapped. Ino looked at Shikamaru sympathetically.

"Are the flowers for him?" She pointed a thin finger at the young royal.

"Yes," came a muffled reply.

"You know what? They're free." Ino pushed the flowers in front of Shikamaru.

"Thanks, Ino," muttered Shikamaru.

"What a commoner's shop," sneered Kurono. Ino leant over the counter and glared at him.

"I dare you to say that again, brat," Ino dared fiercely. Kurono held his ground.

"The palace's courtesans dress like you do." _(AN: A courtesan is a mid-16th Century usage that refers to a mistress or trained artisan of dance and singing.__)_

Shikamaru's head shot up from the counter in a state of panic. At the same time Temari grabbed onto Kurono's shoulder and ran for the door. As much as she wanted Kurono to be punished, it wouldn't be great for them if he was dead. (Temari was sure Ino would kill him.)

Shikamaru grabbed the flowers and shot out the door, just after Temari basically threw Kurono into the carriage, with Ino right on his heels.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY, YOU LITTLE PRICK?!" Ino screamed. Temari and Shikamaru threw themselves onto the bull at the same time.

"GO!" shouted Temari.

The bull, motivated by fright, charged off towards the gate and was through it within a matter of seconds, Ino chasing after them and shouting hurtful curse words towards the royal.

Finally the bull stopped in the middle of the forest with no Ino in sight and all Kurono had to say was:

"I'm calling this bull Ino."

Shikamaru groaned and hung his head. Somehow he didn't like the fact that a bull was being named after his team mate of six years. Temari smiled mischievously.

"You know, I think this kid may grow on me."

"Great…"

x. .X. .x

"I'm really, really, really sorry, Tsunade-baachan!" Naruto pleaded. Right now he was grovelling on Tsunade's floor. "I really didn't mean to! It was an accident 'ttebayo!"

"How could something like that be an accident?!" Tsunade shouted. She was ready to maim Nauruto to within an inch of his life.

"Sakura-chan, help me!" Naruto begged. Sakura shook her head at him.

"Sorry, Naruto, but you need to learn from this," Sakura replied, folding her arms sternly. Sakura was not prepared to get in the way of an angry Tsunade. She actually valued her life. Naruto wailed.

"But surely you could fix it! It's not that big of a deal!"

"Not that big of a deal?!" Tsunade bellowed.

"And how do you propose we fix it, Naruto?" Sakura asked.

"I dunno, maybe some rock and a little glue-"

"How is that going to solve our prince problem?!" Sakura and Tsunade shouted in unison.

"Prince problem? What prince problem?" Naruto asked, generally confused.

"Wait, you mean you didn't get Prince Kurono locked up in the ANBU prison?" Tsunade asked.

"No ways! We have a prince?!" Naruto asked energetically.

"No, baka!" Sakura scolded. "The prince from the Geyser Country."

"Geyser Country?" Naruto asked. Sakura sighed.

"It's no use, shishou. As much as it amazes me too… Naruto didn't do it." Tsunade groaned and cursed her life.

"Ha! I told you I didn't do it 'ttebayo!"

"So, if you didn't get the prince locked up… what _did _you do?"

"Oh, I just broke the nose off of the First Hokage statue on Konoha's cliff face."

"Sakura, I want you to go to ANBU headquarters and get me the roster of who signed in the prisoners."

"Hai, shishou!" Sakura hastily left the room.

"And, Naruto…"

"Hai, Tsunade-baachan?"

"If you think you can get away with breaking my grandfather's nose, you are very much mistaken!"

"I didn't mean to!" Naruto wailed as he raced out of the office.

"GET BACK HERE, NARUTO!" Tsunade was hot on his heels.

x. .X. .x

"He won't even use the flowers."

"What?"

"Says they're too girly."

"Saw that coming."

"Well, then, I guess… here."

"Aww, flowers for me. Smooth."

Scowl. Blush.

"Troublesome woman."

"Crybaby."

Glare.

Glare.

Silence.

Shuffles feet.

"Thanks."

* * *

_Like I said, dedicated to Kakashi. (Even though he didn't feature.)_

_Oh and Deida__**r**__a… I think all of th__**e**__m will be dedicated to those two. I loved them so __**v**__ery much. QQ Anyway, got __**i**__deas for chapter 3 alr__**e**__ady, so expect a ne__**w**__ chapter soon__**!**_

_Oh, and letting you know. Kurono is pronounced Ka roo no :) just so you don't get confused. And Ino's birthday was like a week ago, not on the day. _

_[please tell me you have been infected by the subliminal message. =D]_

_Ja ne_

_p.s. thank you to Randomonium again... she almost died from laughter editing this story apparantly. Hostel girls thought she was on drugs. Oh and before this story is all edited Shikamaru is a medical marvel. =D best you not know about it.  
_


	3. Chapter 3: Shadows Equals Screaming?

_Hey there,_

_Got it up, finally, I have been having a rough time with this chapter. I have no access to editors, Randimonium has left me because it's holiday and my other friend has gone to California for Christmas and he will be too busy to edit. =/_

_As soon as I have an editor I promise it will get edited, but for now, you will have to live with my really bad grammar, sorry. _

_Enjoy the chapter everyone, I have had that end section in mind ever since I created the story. ;) I like it._

_

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_

**Royal Delivery**

**Chapter Three – Shadows Equals Screaming?**

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**

Temari played with the elegant petals of the moonflowers, allowing her mind to wander. Shikamaru gave her a look of concern. Temari didn't usually space out like this.

"Temari, you ok?" Shikamaru put his hand on her arm to wake her out of her trance.

"Huh? Oh, yes, I'm fine." She shook her arm so he would stop holding it.

Shikamaru let go reluctantly. Wait… did she just blush? Couldn't be. Temari does _not _blush. Shikamaru looked at her again closely. He could have sworn he saw a light pink hue fill her cheeks.

"Are you sure you're ok?" Shikamaru asked, concerned.

"I'm fine, Shikamaru." She answered irritably.

"I don't know your names," The prince stated, interrupting anything Shikamaru might have said.

"Oh," Temari muttered deadpan.

"Tell me your names," He demanded. Temari ignored his bossy attitude (read as: _tried _not to slap him) and spoke up first.

"I'm Sabaku no Temari, jounin of Sunagakure and ambassador to Konoha." Temari placed her hands on her hips. Shikamaru sighed lazily.

"This is so troublesome…" Temari elbowed him sharply in the ribs. "Nara Shikamaru, jounin of Konohagakure and senior strategist to the Hokage."

"What about you, brat? Want to tell us something about yourself, or are you too 'royal' to tell us anything?" Temari asked Kurono.

"Shikamaru-san, you should keep your girlfriend in line." Kurono stated smartly.

Temari lunged at Kurono; Shikamaru was barely able to restrain her.

"She's not my girlfriend," Shikamaru wheezed. He had just gotten punched in the stomach by Temari's stray fist.

"Really? She isn't?" Kurono asked, leaning closer to Temari. He was staring as if he could see a lie if he looked hard enough.

"No." Temari straightened up and pulled her arms free from Shikamaru's grip. "She's not my girlfriend."

"You would be amazed how many people think we are in a relationship," Temari commented dully.

"I can see why, you two acted just like my parents…"

"Acted, why are you using the past tense? Did they stop bickering and being violent with each other?" Shikamaru asked. He shot Temari a glance, hinting at how he viewed their friendship.

"Oi…" Temari replied in a deadly whisper.

"I don't want to talk about it…" The prince avoided their gazes and suddenly was very interested in fabric of his blue pants. Temari looked at Shikamaru with an inquisitive look on her features. He raised an eyebrow in response.

"And why is that?" Temari asked. She leaned down so that she was on the same level as Kurono.

"Because, I just don't want too, ok?" The prince looked away from Temari's gaze quickly. He suddenly felt very emotionally exposed and vulnerable.

"Come on…" Temari nudged Kurono gently, giving him a playful smile. She put a hand on his shoulder and poked him lightly.

"Just leave me alone!" Kurono shouted.

"Hey kid, what's- OUCH!" Temari winced and grabbed her hand quickly. The prince darted off into the carriage and shut the door loudly. The bull didn't pay much attention to all the commotion and kept on eating tufts of grass. "That little brat bit me!" Temari hissed, gripping her hand tightly.

"Let me see," Shikamaru instructed. He held out his hand, expecting her to show him her bite mark.

"I don't need any help, Nara," she said coolly.

"Woman, shut up and give me your hand," Shikamaru replied sternly. Temari glared at him but reluctantly placed her hand on his. "Wow, he bit you pretty hard. We should treat that."

"You don't need to."

Shikamaru ignored her. He reached into the pouch on the side of his leg and pulled out a few minor healing necessities. He carefully held her hand, palm facing him, and examined her bite mark, watching as the crimson blood flowed out of the wound. He grabbed a vial of disinfectant and carefully allowed it to drip onto a piece of cloth he had lying around in the bottom of his pouch.

"You keep medical supplies on you?" Temari questioned with mild interest.

"Little tip I picked up from Ino," Shikamaru replied. He held the cloth above the bleeding wound on her palm. "This will sting a bit."

"Ino? She seems- ouch." Temari winced and shut her eyes briefly as Shikamaru dabbed the bite. "She seems to teach you a lot," Temari stated quietly, in an almost… mocking manner. Shikamaru looked up from her hand to her eyes. He furrowed his brow.

"I don't like that tone of voice you're using." Temari laughed softly in response.

"Sorry," she apologized, smiling vaguely at him.

Her eyes were a jade colour now, Shikamaru noted. Her mood had changed. Shikamaru couldn't place why; he hadn't yet to identify each colour with each mood. All he knew is that the light was caught best in that shade… he felt his heart do an odd flippy thing in his chest.

Shikamaru carefully wrapped a bandage around her hand. "No need to apologize, you didn't know, right?" Temari turned her hand so he could secure the tying of the bandage.

"Right." She clenched her fingers together. "It's tight enough, thanks, Nara." She walked over to Ino, the bull, and tapped him slightly. He moved obediently forward in response. Shikamaru watched Temari follow next to the bull. He knew that she was in deep thought; he had been around her long enough to identify the way she was acting now.

"Jeez, I wish people like you didn't all jump to the same conclusion, it is so troublesome," Shikamaru complained as he caught up to Temari's side. "Ino and I are just friends."

"Did I say you two were anything more than that?" Temari countered, looking at him sternly.

"No, you didn't, but I know how you imply things Temari. I just know how you think," Shikamaru stated. Temari looked at him for a few moments, taking the time to study his features and expression. Temari laughed softly.

"I get it. So, if you are insisting that you are just friends, you want to spread the word around… you have someone special in mind, Nara?" Temari asked in a teasing manner. Shikamaru tried to glare at her, but with that expression she had… it was so hard to do so. He opted for sighing.

He looked downwards and observed their feet moving in sync on the road. They were always like that; in sync. They were always on the same page, always in understanding of each other. This was one of his friendships that he truly treasured. To have the feeling that someone could relate to you touched him in a way that sometimes made him feel uncomfortable, awkward. But lately… he felt distant from Temari, and that lone fact bothered him surprisingly more than he thought.

"I guess… I do," He replied earnestly. Temari looked a little taken aback. Shikamaru didn't tell her about his personal feelings; it was a silent agreement that had always been upheld. Why was he trying to change the old agreements? Was he trying to open up more? Was he trying to connect on a more personal level?

Damn, this is what that man did her: made her over think things.

"I see…" She felt mildly upset. There was someone who was precious to Shikamaru, and he wouldn't tell her who? She thought they were friends, close comrades, who trusted each other.

"Temari? Are you ok? You look a little… I don't know… is something bothering you?" Shikamaru asked, generally concerned. Temari made a small passé gesture with her hands, not allowing herself to look at him completely. "You can tell me anything, you know that."

Temari looked into his eyes for a moment, looking between each onyx pool, studying, understanding, learning. "I can't explain this feeling to one without it." She said softly.

Her eyes were sapphire now. His heart lurched painfully. This was one of the only colours he knew. That colour was sadness.

The door to the carriage suddenly burst open, the wood of the door smacking against the side of the carriage. There stood the prince, proudly puffing out his chest, all signs of his previous vulnerability absolutely diminished.

"I'm hungry," he stated.

"Damn… means you're human," Temari grumbled.

Kurono decided to ignore the comment. "Take me somewhere to eat."

"We just ate," Shikamaru argued.

"So? I haven't, and I'm hungry."

"I'll give you something to eat," Temari sneered. She cracked her knuckles. Shit. She was upset; her previous rare showing of raw emotion had set her to aggressive mode.

"That wouldn't be wise, Temari-san. I'll just report you for abusing royalty. You wouldn't."

"Try me," she growled.

"Jeez, you two…" Shikamaru stood in between them, placing his hands in his pockets. "You're making everything troublesome, there is a tea house about a mile away, and we can stop there. Stop growling Temari."

"Fine," she mumbled.

x. .X. .x

Tsunade tapped her fingernails against the desk aggressively, (leaving an inch deep dent in the table in the process.) waiting.

Jiraiya laughed softly. "Tsunade, you really shouldn't do that, you're destroying that table, they don't grow on trees you know."

Tsunade stopped tapping the desk and looked at him blandly, questioning him.

"…ok, maybe they do, but you understand what I mean."

"Hai, hai, I know Jiraiya… I just hate waiting, especially for important documents, where the hell is Sakura?!" Tsunade held her head in her hands, staring at the fine varnish on the table. She started tapping her foot instead, (cracking the floor tiles in the process) needing a way to vent her frustration.

Jiraiya poured a cup of sake carefully. He placed it on the desk then pushed it gently in front of her. He poured another cup for himself.

"Thanks," she mumbled, drinking it in one gulp.

"I hope you didn't beat Naruto within an inch of his life, I need that boy for training," Jiraiya added after she had downed the cup.

"No, I didn't." Tsunade sighed. "I wanted too, but I didn't." Tsunade pulled her hands together, meshing her fingers together. "Partly because he can run like hell," she added dryly.

Jiraiya chuckled deeply. "Hai… I think he has learnt that survival necessity over the years. He pisses a lot of people off, always pays to know how to run."

They heard the door knock, Tsunade instantly tensed. The door opened slowly, inch by inch. A wave of pink hair emerged.

"SAKURA!!" Tsunade bellowed. Sakura smiled nervously. "Where have you been?!"

"Gomenasai, gomenasai, the ANBU officers were short on staff today, it took a while to gather all the necessary documents." Sakura cautiously entered the office, afraid that Tsunade might lash out and throw her sake cup at her. She still had the bruise from the last cup that was thrown at her.

"I don't care, just hand over the document!" Tsunade ordered fiercely, burning her chestnut eyes into emerald ones. "Quickly!"

"Hai, shishou!" Sakura scuttled clumsily up to the desk.

"Jeez, Tsunade, she can only walk so fast," Jiraiya murmured.

Tsunade snatched the clipboard roster from Sakura and scanned the front page vigorously. She flipped the paper over the top and scanned the next; she repeated this process two more times before she settled on a page.

"Here, eight o'clock this morning, prince Kurono…" Tsunade's finger traced a line on the paper. "Prince Kurono was apprehended and taken to ANBU prison by… Inuzuka Kiba." Tsunade put down the clipboard.

"Kiba?" Sakura questioned, slightly confused. "He should surely have a decent reason; he isn't the type to just throw someone in prison because they look dodgy."

"Are you sure about that, Sakura?" Tsunade asked.

"Hai, Shishou. Kiba might have confronted them in a slightly… aggressive manner, but he is never that… presumptuous about their character."

"I see…" Tsunade hastily stood up. "Sakura, fetch Inuzuka Kiba and bring him here, I need to speak with him about this matter."

"Hai, shishou, right away." Sakura briskly left the room, making her way towards the direction of Team Kurenai's training grounds.

"Inuzuka Kiba, hmm?"

x. .X. .x

Shikamaru sighed, silently praying that Tsunade would just suddenly pop out from behind the trees and tell them to abandon the mission. He could barely take anymore of this whining.

"Such a commoner's place, how could you have expected me to eat there?" Kurono complained, walking briskly and formally down the dirt road.

"You ate the whole bowl of ramen, didn't you?" Temari asked, trying not to snap.

"Yes, but that is only because I would have died if I didn't eat soon," The prince sneered.

"You can survive ten days without food, kiddo," she countered knowingly.

The prince remained silent for a minute. "Well, I am a prince, so I'm special enough to die without food every ten hours." He stuck his tongue out.

"Shut up, brat." Temari clamped her hand down on Kurono's head and pushed it down. He tried to pull her hand off, only failing.

He kind of looked like a crab, Shikamaru mused. "It got dark very fast, that's very unlike summer… troublesome."

Suddenly the prince stopped stumbling around and stood still. Temari looked down at him, mildly interested.

"Did you say… d-dark?" Kurono squeaked.

"Yeah, dark. I guess you were too busy whining at us you didn't even notice it was dark, jeez." Temari looked at Shikamaru when Kurono suddenly started looking around like a frightened mouse.

"Are you ok?" Shikamaru asked.

"P-perfectly fine," The prince stuttered. "L-let's get b-back to Ino, he isn't t-too far a-away." Suddenly Kurono darted off in a sprint down the dirt road.

"Hey kid!" Shikamaru shouted after him. "Damn brat."

"Wow, he can sure run," Temari murmured.

Shikamaru hastily pushed his hands into a seal. His Nara clan shadow shot across the ground after Kurono who was now pelting down the dirt road in the distance. Shikamaru saw and felt his shadow connect with Kurono's, the prince successfully stopped.

Then, all hell broke loose.

A blood curdling scream ripped through the tranquil air. "AAAH!" Temari and Shikamaru clamped their hands over their ears; it felt as if the scream had ripped their ear drums apart. "THE SHADOWS GOT ME! HELP ME! SAVE ME! AAAAH!"

"WHAT IS HE DOING?!" Temari shouted at Shikamaru, who could barely hear her.

"I DON'T KNOW!" Shikamaru screamed in reply. "Kuruno!"

"Kuruno!!" Temari shouted.

"KURUNO!"

x. .X. .x

"You called for me, Godaime?" Kiba asked.

"Hai, Inuzuka, I wish to talk to you about your trip to ANBU prison this morning," Tsunade replied. She crossed her arms on her desk. "Were you aware that the child you apprehended was royalty from the Geyser Country?"

"He was? Shit." Kiba swore.

"Why did you apprehend him? He is a child after all."

"Earlier this morning I was training in the forest, just outside of Konoha, with Akamaru – the trees grow really strong there you see, nice to practice your taijutsu on – anyway, I was training when I suddenly smelt a menacing scent"

"Menacing scent?" Jiraiya questioned.

"Yeah, I could almost smell the evil. I instantly went to investigate; it could have been a threat to Konoha, you know? So, I followed the smell with Akamaru and came across that kid, he didn't actually smell of the scent, but it was all around him. Plus, he was asleep; usually the 'menacing scent' only becomes active when they are conscious. With that conclusion, I apprehended him."

"But still, he is just a child."

"I know. I just figured… maybe he was like Sabaku no Gaara or something…" Kiba muttered, slightly sheepish.

"I see, well… that reason is suitable enough for me."

"So… he was a prince, shit… I screwed up didn't I?" Kiba asked with concern.

"Yeah, you did," Sakura replied bluntly.

"Sakura's right," Tsunade stated firmly. Kiba almost winced. "But, I cannot punish you, even though it ended badly… your intentions were for the safety of Konoha and you are commended for that."

"Really? Awesome!" Kiba gave off a wolfish grin. (He was just happy that he was going to live today.) "Can I be dismissed?"

"Hai, but, we may call on you for more information regarding this matter, so just be prepared for that."

"Hai, Godaime." With that Kiba left the room, Akamaru at his heels.

Tsunade flopped back in her chair. "Ugh, what a day… Sakura, you are dismissed. Go home and get some rest."

"Hai, arigatou shishou." Sakura turned to leave. "Oh and Tsunade-sama… you should really sleep yourself," she said brightly. "Goodnight Jiraiya-sensei."

"Goodnight, Sakura." Jiraya replied with a smile. Sakura left the room and closed the door behind her. "I have a few errands to run, and it looks like you have a few more papers to sort out… I'll see you at your place later?"

"Yeah, and don't forget the take out either," Tsunade snapped. Jiraiya chuckled and leaned over to give her a soft kiss.

"Wouldn't dream of it."

x. .X. .x

"I cannot believe it... he's afraid of the dark."

"I can't believe he actually fainted."

"Hai… at least it's quiet now."

"We have to do something about that noise, he's gonna wake up soon."

"Hai, I'd give him five minutes, tops. Hey, Temari?"

"Hmm?"

"You could, maybe, hold-"

"Nara, I will _not _hold his hand."

"But you said-"

"No."

"But-."

"Just no."

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_All done,_

_For now anyways. Will start working on chapter 4, do not fear! Oh yeah, chapter 4 is what you all have been waiting for… I think. Oh yes, hot stuff. ^^_

_By the way, the line "I cannot explain this feeling to one without." Is actually a quote from Albert Einstein, didn't know that did ya? :D_

_Oh, and Sakura calls Jiraiya sensei because he teaches Naruto and sometimes gives tips to Sakura, so she considers him a teacher. Anyway, hope you enjoyed. Merry Christmas!_

_Please **review**… it's the ramen for my inner Naruto. Srsly. _


	4. Chapter 4: Are You Sure About That?

_A/N: And it's done!_

_I have had this chapter in the works for around two weeks now. I got stuck after the first "section" because I didn't know how to get the meeting to flow. So I left it for a while so I could think about it. A week later I wrote it but then the whole bath scene, it was hard to write, so I sat on it for another week, planning it out. Then last night I wrote mostly all of it except for the last section (not the little dialogue at the end). I wrote that now, and even thought it was awkward, I actually love it. I think it flowed nicely, which is hard to manage. _

_Once again, no editor, I am not loved. I am looking for a Beta at the moment, because my friend can't do it. So, if anyone is interested, please PM me. ;)_

_Enjoy this chapter, I wrote it all for your enjoyment!  
_

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**Royal Delivery**

**Chapter Four – Are You Sure About That?**

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Temari wasn't a maternal person. Probably never would be. She never saw herself with kids, a husband, and that house with the white picket fence. It wasn't even a possible option, in her opinion. That's why as she picked up the prince she felt an unfamiliar wave of this… almost nurturing feeling overcome her. She almost wanted to shiver; it felt so unnatural, so alien.

Temari carefully gathered up Kurono's limbs and body into her arms and picked him up carefully, almost afraid he would break. Her heart felt warm, and hurt. Such a feeling was only reserved for the weak, Temari constantly told herself. She held Kurono to her chest, somewhat afraid to look at him; she hated the feeling of her heart throbbing like that.

Shikamaru's presence raided her senses. "I can't believe it…he's still unconscious, it's already morning," Temari said, annoyed. Shikamaru rubbed his eyes before responding.

"More rather sleeping than unconscious, I think he went straight from unconsciousness to sleep," Shikamaru muttered. His voice was thick with sleep. Temari huffed. That thick voice annoyed her, because it sounded so attractive.

"Whatever it is, it stops now," she replied gruffly. "It's about time he wakes up."

"Don't do that Temari, let the kid sleep a bit longer. We have a long trip ahead of us, after all," Shikamaru muttered again. Temari wanted to snap at him and tell him to stop saying her name when his voice was like that. It annoyed her. It wasn't supposed to sound so good.

"Damn right we have a long trip. We are on the second day of our three day trip, Nara; we can't afford to delay our time anymore." Temari snapped.

"Last night I plotted out a shorter trip we can use in the Land of Fields, we have time to spare, so let him sleep a little longer, ok?" Shikamaru persuaded.

"He's probably faking it, just so he can laze around a little longer," Temari replied stubbornly. Shortly after Kurono let out a small snore.

"Or not," Shikamaru chuckled lightly. "C'mon Temari, put the kid down, stop being so troublesome." He drawled. All traces of thickness in his voice were gone now.

"Fine, fine." She sighed. Temari carefully laid the prince down in the grass under the shade of a small oak tree. "Since when do I give in?" Temari asked absently mindedly as she sat down next to the child.

"Not sure." Shikamaru did the same and sat down on the other side of the royal heir. "But, I sure as hell enjoy it."

"Oh, shut up." She smiled slightly.

Shikamaru was surprised to the see the sudden surge of colour in her eyes, an almost forest green but had hints of blue. On top of the colour, her eyes sparkled now. That colour, by far, was his favourite shade.

Temari leaned over the prince slightly. "You know… when he is sleeping like this… he doesn't seem so…"

"Troublesome?" Shikamaru offered with a smirk.

"I was going to say evil… but troublesome works." She suppressed the urge to move a lock of ebony hair from the boy's face. She couldn't help but smile, he sure looked peaceful. She had to admit, he was a handsome boy. He would be a heartbreaker for sure. "So cute… kind of makes me want to have one myself," Temari whispered happily.

Shikamaru almost did a double take. Temari, maybe wanted to have a kid? That alone was surprising enough, but for her to _tell _him that… is just wow. And she looked so… motherly… tender… _beautiful. _So un-Temari-like! "Me too," Shikamaru replied, trying to get over his surprised state. Temari smiled at him weakly.

Picking up on the awkward atmosphere, Temari picked herself up. "I'm gonna go and take down the tents, you stay here and tell me when 'his majesty' wakes up."

"Alright," Shikamaru agreed, nodding his head. Temari walked off towards the campsite.

Temari turned around to face him. "Oh, and Shikamaru?"

"Yeah?" Shikamaru asked lazily.

"No kids," she said harshly. She seemed a little bit flustered.

"No kids," Shikamaru repeated.

"Damn straight." Temari turned around and proudly walked back to camp. Shikamaru couldn't help but smile.

x. .X. .x

"Shishou, you cannot hold a meeting!" Sakura commanded as she hurried after the Hokage, trying to keep up with her. She grappled the clipboards holding medical charts in her hands, trying not to drop any. Her hair was messily tied up. The pink haired medic looked very tired. She had been up the whole night (regardless of Tsunade telling her to get some rest) perfecting a medical jutsu for a patient, who was close to her heart, at the hospital.

"Last time I checked, _Sakura_, _I _was the Hokage. Am I mistaken?" Tsunade hissed, not slowing down her fast pace.

"N-no. Of course not, Tsunade-sama, it's just that… It's just that you can't hold a meeting so suddenly."

"Suddenly? Sakura we have about 40 hours before the prince has to be back in his home country or else we are at war. We have to be quick about this!"

"I know. But please, be reasonable-" A clipboard escaped from her hands as she turned a sharp corner after Tsunade. "-shit. Shishou, I'm not saying we mustn't be quick about this. All I'm saying is that-" Another clipboard dropped out of her arms as Tsunade came to a sudden halt. "-damn. I'm saying; please don't call upon the council members _now_."

Tsunade grabbed the doorknob of the door in front of her and stopped to addess Sakura. "Oh, I won't…" She said sweetly. _Too _sweetly… "I won't because…" Tsunade turned the knob and swung open the door to the conference room. "They're already here!"

The remaining clipboards clattered onto the ground around Sakura's feet. Sakura stood sheepishly in the doorway with the entire conference room (around 40 people) staring at her judgmentally.

"Oh dear, you should really clean that up, Sakura," Tsunade commented with mock concern.

The Hokage entered confidently into the conference room leaving Sakura fumbling with the clipboards as she gathered them up again and hurried after her.

"Tsunade-sama!" Sakura whispered aghast when she caught up with her. "I can't believe you already called the meeting without concerning the elders about it!"

"Ugh, stop being like Shizune, Sakura. We don't need to concern those old bags with this." Tsunade made her way up to the head chair.

"But-"

"Enough! We are having this meeting and that's final!" Tsunade barked sharply. Sakura recoiled with fear. Tsunade had that vein in her forehead. Now _that_ was always bad.

"Fine," Sakura replied moodily. She sat down in an available chair on Tsunade's right in a huff. She began muttering under her breath about Tsunade's bossiness and how unreasonable she was.

"Heh, she's not that bad," someone commented.

"Ah! Kiba!" Sakura exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"I was hoping you would tell me."

x. .X. .x

Shikamaru opened his eyes blearily. Light attacked his eyes as soon as he opened them and seemed to burn into his eyelids after he shut them. He slowly sat himself up and rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand.

"What happened?" he mumbled to himself. He surveyed his surroundings and realized, with horror, that he had fallen asleep. How long had he been out? He quickly looked beside him and found no prince.

The lazy shinobi hastily got up and dusted off his jounin vest. Not wasting any time he walked back to where they had camped out. "Temari?" he called, hoping he would find her quickly and that she wouldn't inflict any pain upon him for falling asleep. He listened carefully for a reply or for any movement but he heard nothing. "Damn, where the hell is she?"

Shikamaru gave up temporarily looking for her and went to look for the royal 'bounty' they had. Ino was still very much content with the peace and quiet and had decided to lay down in the grass for a rest. Shikamaru walked up to the carriage and opened up the door quickly only to find no one. "What the _hell?" _Shikamaru started cursing and slammed the door loudly with extreme force.

Anxiousness started bubbling up in his chest and suffocating his heart. He didn't have a good feeling about this. He had fallen asleep quite far away from the camp meaning he wouldn't have heard any intruders if they were in the campsite. And now both Temari and Kurono were gone. He told himself to calm down. Temari was a very powerful kunoichi; she was much stronger than many people he knew. She wouldn't go down without a fight.

He quickly searched the perimeter for them or any signs of battle and struggle. He spent around five minutes of searching. Then he stumbled upon a sight that made his heart skip a beat: Acres and acres of destroyed trees. Some trees were neatly chopped, others were shredded, and others were just transformed into shreds of wood. He was sure his jaw dropped at the destruction. He had a very good idea on what _this _was. It was no doubt Temari. Was this a battle scene, were they abducted? Shikamaru could feel the panic starting to rise.

"Shikamaru-san?"

Shikamaru abruptly turned to the right and he felt himself give a sigh of relief. Kurono looked at him from a few metres of distance. He sat in some thick green bushes kneeling into them. From beyond the bushes he could see a large waterfall that had been destroyed by, what Shikamaru guessed, was Temari's technique. The left side of the waterfall rock was slashed vigorously and had caved in creating a smaller waterfall. The overflow created a small pond-like body of water.

Shikamaru hurried over to Kurono and knelt down beside him. "You little brat, why are you over here? Why did you leave the campsite? Where is Temari?!" Shikamaru interrogated loudly. Suddenly a tiny hand clasped around Shikamaru's mouth.

"Ssh!" Kurono whispered and placed a finger at his lips. Shikamaru glared at him and pulled the child's hand from his mouth. He felt an unfamiliar anger grasp his chest which had resulted from his worry.

"Why are you-" Shikamaru started, but his voice died in his throat when something caught his eye. Hanging over a branch that was situated near the bushes was something that looked a lot like Temari's yukata. "Oh… hell no," Shikamaru whispered disbelievingly. He turned to the prince. "Where's Temari?" He asked dangerously.

The prince grinned devilishly and pointed out of the bushes in front of them, his finger pointing to the pond and waterfall. "See for yourself," he answered in a sing-song voice. Shikamaru reluctantly followed the direction his finger was pointing.

He _so _wished he hadn't.

Shikamaru now knew that Kurono was spying on Temari while she was bathing. Temari had waded into the pond so that the water had pooled around her waist. Her bare back was facing towards him; it showcased many scratches and slashes across her back which appeared to be very recent. She had her hands through her damp hair, her arms matted with scratches and cuts as well.

Shikamaru made a squeak-like sound and dove back into the bushes turning the opposite direction from Temari. There was no way he could keep looking. He knew that he was attracted to her, it was very apparent, and if he watched her he knew that it would change the way he viewed her and… completely change his view on their friendship. He didn't want that. It would make everything difficult; he didn't want things to get troublesome.

His chest was heaving and his heart was beating erratically. He had no doubt that his face must have been sporting a blush because Kurono snickered at him before continuing his private viewing. Shikamaru wanted to try and make sense of things, when he could figure things out he felt at peace. That's how he was, he could figure out anything.

He tried to get his mind on track, as to why she would even be _there. _Every time he tried to get his mind on track the image of her voluptuous curves would attack his mind. Her round hips and long slender back, the swell of her breast peeking through the space between her back and her arm, her lean lower back , the graceful curve of her neck and delicate shoulders, as well as her gorgeous face…

He shook his head violently trying to think clearly for a second. He could barely manage. Right now it felt like his head was filled with fog. (With the image of her perfect body showing through) It felt like he had blown a fuse. He needed to think right now, sort something out, and make him feel normal again.

He added in all the clues. The forest was utterly destroyed. It was a new form of destruction that he hadn't seen yet. Temari had been talking about a new jutsu she was working on. She was cut and scratched. Her element was wind which was known to cut. Slowly everything pieced together easily.

After Temari had taken down the tents at the campsite she must have come back to him, but he was sleeping. Shikamaru wasn't sure why she didn't wake him, maybe she was too tired to rant and wake at him? (This was the only thing that didn't make sense to him) Then she must have decided to train in the break while he slept. She went to the forest and perfected or continued working on her new jutsu. The noise must have woken up Kurono and he went over to watch or see what was happening. After training Temari must have been bloody and disheveled… so she must have gone to clean up at the waterfall and Kurono went to go spy on her!

Shikamaru removed his fingers from his 'thinking seal'. He never even knew he had made it. Quickly Shikamaru dove onto the prince with his eyes closed. He just couldn't look at Temari, it would ruin their friendship, and it would ruin the way he thought about her. Even though he wanted to, he couldn't look. The prince gave out a squeak of surprise as the older man crushed him into the ground.

"You little troublesome perverted brat, you're almost as bad as Konohamaru!" Shikamaru whispered harshly. Kurono squirmed violently, thrashing around.

"Who the heck is Konohamaru?!" Shikamaru ignored the question.

"You were spying on Temari while she was _bathing_!" Shikamaru spat.

"But I couldn't help it! She's just so beautiful! Our courtesans aren't as pretty as she is!" Kurono tried to reason. Shikamaru fought back the upcoming agreement. The royal heir suddenly slipped out of his grasp. "Just let me look a little longer!" He pulled himself up and looked at the waterfall again.

"No! No more-" Shikamaru tried to dive on him again.

"Hey… where did she go?" Kurono asked. Shikamaru opened his eyes quickly and scrambled up to Kurono's level.

"_What do you mean where did she go?!_" He hissed. Kurono was right, Temari was gone. He had a very bad feeling forming in his gut.

"Eh hem…" A female voice behind them said venomously. Both Shikamaru and Kurono turned around to see Temari standing above them looking ready to put them in their graves. Her obi was hastily tied suggesting she got dressed in a hurry. Her hair dripped slowly and her eyes flashed dark green. She crossed her arms in front of her. Shikamaru sensed immediate death in his future and jumped to his defense.

"I would just like to point out that I wasn't spying on you! He was!" He pointed quickly to the ten year old who was on his right. "I was trying to stop him!"

Temari glared at them both and tapped her foot before uncrossing her arms. Shikamaru knew what was coming next…

_SLAP! SLAP!  
_

x. .X. .x

"Kiba, what happened to your eye?" Sakura asked, slightly concerned.

"Oh, this?" Kiba placed his fingers gently on the bruise surrounding his eye. "_This _is courtesy of Godaime-sama. She decided later on, when she was in a bad mood, that some of this actually was my fault… and well, you get the point." He rubbed his cheek.

"Yeah, well, at least you aren't Naruto. Tsunade-sama broke his arm and bruised a hell of a lot more," Sakura commented.

"That's what I keep telling myself." Kiba grinned wolfishly before turning towards the table.

"I'm going straight to business," Tsunade declared. "As I'm sure you all know, yesterday morning at eight o'clock Hiroshi Kurono was apprehended and placed in the ANBU holding facility." Tsunade shuffled through some papers before continuing. "Hiroshi Kurono is the heir to the throne of the Geyser country and son to the King. The Geyser Country is one of the few countries left that use the monarchy system. So, naturally, the prince is of huge value to them and they are prepared to wage war on Konoha to get him back. Sakura, could you continue please?"

Sakura stood up slowly and shot her master a glare. She knew that Tsunade was going to make her do this. Good thing she always prepared ahead of time. Just in case Tsunade pulled something like this. Sakura cleared her throat and prepared to speak.

"Hai, Godaime. We are fully aware that a country like Geyser are no match for Konohagakure's shinobi and would easily fall if we went to war. Regardless of this fact they are still prepared to fight us," Sakura stated professionally. "This is less than ideal for us. The Geyser Country is very wealthy; they receive a lot of their money from tourism thanks to their huge geyser fields. Those same fields also produce water filled with medicinal properties that medical nin's use in antidotes. The water can only be found in that country, nowhere else. So, naturally, the water has a very high price, that also adds to the Country's wealth. Before this… incident… we were on good terms with Geyser and they regularly sent large amounts of Geyser water to us for medicinal uses. Of course that has stopped now. We depend on that water for a lot of our antidotes; a lot of people could die now, and in future, without it. "

Sakura let out a deep breath after her long explanation and sat down in her seat. There were several murmurings throughout the table before Tsunade spoke up.

"As you can see this is a bit of an issue." Tsunade stood up abruptly. "I would just like to point out this isn't a meeting to ask for advice. This is a meeting to inform, so Konoha isn't in the dark. Before anyone asks, yes we do know who apprehended Hiroshi Kurono, but we would like to keep his or her identity unknown for the time being, but we can assure you that we are talking with him or her and investigating every available angle to look at Kurono's detainment."

Tsunade gestured for everyone to stand.

"You will be informed when we have more information, you are dismissed."

x. .X. .x

The atmosphere was still awkward. At two in the afternoon Temari was still ticked off with both of the males. They walked silently along the path that was drawn in the map Sakura had given them. Kurono had decided to sit in the carriage to escape from the sun, claiming his royal skin was sensitive. So it left Temari and Shikamaru walking together, the air heavy with tension.

After following the path for good half hour they stopped at a fork in the road, the left path lead through the Land of Canyons, and the right road lead through the mountainous Land of Volcanoes. Shikamaru looked at the map in his hands. The left path was the only one drawn on the map. So, Sakura must have wanted them to take that path. He remembered a lesson he had had long ago about the Land of Canyons; it was a safe country with lots of security. It was also a very large country.

Shikamaru looked up and noticed Temari was no longer by his side but walking stubbornly down the right road, straight into the Land of Volcanoes.

"Temari! Where the hell are you going?" Shikamaru shouted after her.

"Where does it look like I'm going?" She snapped and continued walking. Shikamaru quickly grabbed Ino's reins and ran after Temari. He growled. Damn woman!

"Sakura wants us to use the left path; you can't just go wherever the hell you want to!" Shikamaru argued.

"That's where you're wrong; I can go wherever I want!" Temari spat. She kept her back on him, not wanting to face him.

Frustration and anger started bubbling up in his chest. "No, you _can't. _We have to follow orders! The Volcano Country is dangerous!" He shouted. Kurono poked his head out of the carriage window, wondering what the commotion was about.

"Does it look like I fucking _care_?" Temari asked venomously. "The path through the mountains will get us to Geyser twice as quickly."

"But it's twice as dangerous! We have to protect the prince, that's our first priority! I don't think the King will be satisfied if we bring him his son's corpse within the deadline!" Shikamaru argued. Kurono whimpered slightly. He didn't really appreciate them talking about his death. "You are so infuriating!" Temari didn't even reply. She just kept walking towards the volcanic country. "Are you even listening to me?!" Shikamaru grabbed her arm roughly and yanked her so she turned around. "Why do I even put up with you?!"

"I don't know! Why do you?!" Temari shouted in reply to his face. Her eyes seemed to be an intimidating black. "Go on, tell me what you think!"

"You are so fucking troublesome, you only care about yourself! You are stubborn and bossy! You don't care what you do as long as the job is done!" Shikamaru retaliated. He felt truly furious, the anger and frustration suffocating him.

Temari's eyes grew darker and she stepped closer to him, so that they stood face to face. "I only care about myself? I dare you to say that again." She whispered threateningly. Shikamaru stepped closer so that they were eye to eye in a standoff. The way they were right now reminded him of the standoff him and his father had years ago after Asuma's death, except they were closer than he had been with his father that time.

Temari's eyes were hard and sharp, filled with defiance and something he couldn't put his finger on. He had only seen it a few times. She was almost panting. Her chest was heaving in a fetching fashion. He could almost hear her growl. Something about her eyes was drawing him in. They were smoldering, with an almost… sexual nature. He felt like he was going to break into a sweat, but this fury he was feeling was not going to go away.

"Why are we still even friends?" Shikamaru asked venomously. They were so close that one more half step and their faces would be touching. Temari's eyes were growing darker.

"I dunno, why are we?" She retaliated. He breathes were ragged, presumably from fury.

"Well, maybe we shouldn't be friends anymore." Shikamaru replied harshly. They were in a standoff now, their eyes never leaving each other, each glaring harshly.

Temari's closed her eyes a fraction so she could glare even further. Her eyes were the darkest they had ever been. The air was thick, everything stood still, almost as if waiting to hear what Temari had to stay.

"Yeah, maybe we shouldn't."

Next thing he knew Temari's hand slipped behind his head and pushed him forward and their lips met. He didn't even hesitate in his response. He pulled her forward, hands held her curvaceous body. Before he knew it their tongues were dancing together. He was mesmerized by the way her lips pressed together and parted at all the right moments. Their lips almost clung together and Temari pressed herself harder into his chest. She laced her fingers behind his head and pulled him down, wanting him to kiss her deeper. Her lips were so soft, and her body was so unbelievable against his. They fit together like pieces in a puzzle.

Then suddenly, it all stopped.

Temari had pushed herself away abruptly; hand over her lips, her eyes wide with shock. What had she just done?! Kurono's jaw was hanging, his eyes as wide as hers. "I'm sorry." She choked out, then fled into the forest.

Shikamaru had never felt so confused in his life.

x. .X. .x

"Dude…"

"Yeah…"

"_Dude…_"

"I know…"

"No, dude, I mean I am _so _reporting you to my father for indecent public displays of affection in front of royalty."

Turns head.

Glare.

"…shut up."

* * *

_A/N: Oh yes, pointing this out._

_This chapter is around +1000 words longer than I usually write. I work according to the days, not how long I want it. So... this one came one long. Plus, I wanted to write something nice and "full" so you guys could enjoy because I felt guilty with the wait... even though I do not work to a deadline, it kills the passion, srsly._

_Please, please, PLEASE review. The reviews make me smile, and the reviews where people tell you what they like and things like that really make you feel good about yourself and then you aim to please, which just makes the reading for you much better. I worked my little ass off for this, so a review would make everything awesome._

_If you review, you are awesome._

_Oh yes, ego rubbing FTW!_

_Ze-chan  
_


	5. Chapter 5: Where Do We Stand?

_A/N: Ok, firstly wow._

_This is long for me. Like really long. I have never written a chapter this long before. I feel kind of proud. *puffs out chest* _

_So, this is where things start to unravel for our duo. ;o and this is where thing's get interesting!_

_This chapter is dedicated to the amazing Jordan-chan, this chapter doesn't even scratch yours. ;)  
_

* * *

**Royal Delivery**

**Chapter Five – Where Do We Stand?**

**

* * *

  
**

Temari held her head in her hands and groaned. Her elbows rested on her knees that were jumping up and down quickly from anxiousness. She shut her eyes tightly and sighed.

That did _not _just happen.

Her hands slipped from her eyes to her lips and she stared into space. She hadn't felt this ashamed and disappointed in herself in years. She was a Suna kunoichi, professional and powerful. And yet, she let her personal feelings interfere with her mission. She ran her hands through her hair roughly and looked at her knees.

Where was her pride?

She heard a rustling that came from the bushes in front of her. Normally, and on natural instinct, she would grab a kunai in case it was an attacker. But instead she honed in her chakra senses and picked up the all too familiar signature, the last person she wanted to see right now. But, she had it coming. She needed to be professional and she needed to handle this maturely.

Shikamaru stepped into the clearing that she sat in. It was sheltered by a thick canopy of vines and proud, widespread branches of thick foliage. The sun filtered through and littered the ground with light and shadows. Temari picked up her head and stared at him from the log she sat on. Her arms crossed across her knees.

Shikamaru took another step into the clearing. He felt the light, warm on his skin, on his chest. The shadows from the foliage covered his face and shoulders. His hands found his pockets. He looked at her expectantly.

Temari matched his gaze, not backing down. She straightened up her posture, uncrossed her arms, and said nothing.

After a few moments she had made her silence on the matter apparent and Shikamaru was forced to speak up.

"Well?" He asked, slouching over slightly. He couldn't hide the annoyed expression on his face. She frowned at him slightly.

She stood up and dusted the back of her yukata. Afterwards she straightened up and adjusted the tightness of her forehead protector. "I'm on my way back to the carriage now. I'm sorry for the… delay," she stated professionally. Her gaze was unwavering.

"As if I _care _about that right now," he snapped. Silence fell in the air as Shikamaru waited expectantly for her to speak. She did not. "Kami, stop acting so troublesome! It's not like you don't know what I'm talking about."

Temari frowned again. "It was nothing, just a slip of judgement, that's all."

"_Nothing_? It sure as hell didn't _feel _like nothing," Shikamaru pointed out. He was so confused. "Why do all you women have to be so difficult?!" Temari glared at him harshly. Her eyes were dark green, whether from anger or the dark forest reflecting in her eyes, he didn't know.

"Come on, let's get back to Kurono. It's our job to protect him," she remarked stonily. She began walking back to the end of the forest, back towards the road and the carriage.

"Not until you explain to me what that was," Shikamaru replied. His voice was demanding and slightly harsh. Temari was surprised about how much this actually _hurt._

"Explain to you? Nara, you are the last person who would need an explanation. Use that IQ of yours that everyone talks about." He said nothing and Temari turned her head and looked over her shoulder. He stood calmly, he looked as if he had given up and was using the last of his intellect to understand her. She resisted the urge to sigh.

"We have a _mission _to do. It was a mistake on my behalf to have done that. I have ashamed myself and my professionalism. I am a Suna shinobi and we do our assignments to the best of our abilities. I cannot let this get in the way."

Shikamaru looked away from her with a pained expression on his face, one of understanding. "I agree." Temari turned her head back to the exit of the forest and began walking. "But, Temari, when this mission is over… please can we talk about this?"

After a moment of silence she nodded vaguely. She left the clearing and exited the trees to be greeted by intense sunlight and a very smug looking ten year old.

"You're not his girlfriend, huh?" He asked smugly.

"Keep talking if you _want_ me to punch you," she replied, deadpan.

"I'll tell my father," he answered in a sing-song voice. She could only glare at him.

And he beamed back.

x. .X. .x

"Kiba-kun, why do you think we are going to see Godaime?" Hinata asked meekly. The years had treated the Hyuuga girl kindly. She now stood a few inches taller. Her hair was longer and silkier. Her already impressive bust line had grown a few more centimetres. Apart from her physical appearance she had changed emotionally as well, finally becoming confident in herself and her abilities.

Sadly, Naruto had yet to realize her affections. Although, he was starting to get a clue. (This may or may not be due to Sakura repeatedly telling him between punches of Hinata's feelings for him.)

"Hey, Hinata, don't single me out, you're going to make Shino sulk," Kiba whispered behind his hand. They both glanced at Shino who had turned his back on them.

"She only asks Kiba for his opinion…" he muttered sulkily. They could almost see the cloud over his head.

"Oh boy, too late…" Kiba sighed in defeat. "Hey man, don't be so down in the dumps!" He exclaimed before giving Shino a hard pat on the back. Shino stumbled slightly.

"That isn't difficult for you to say, Kiba. You weren't the one who wasn't asked for their opinion on the matter," Shino replied monotonously.

"Gomenasai, Shino-kun, I didn't mean to offend you," Hinata apologized. "I just asked Kiba-kun for his opinion because he has been summoned by Godaime a lot recently," Hinata reasoned, resisting the urge to fidget. "And you were away on a mission this week, so I assumed you wouldn't know a reason…"

Shino grunted in response. He was still sulking.

"I don't think your attempt at reassuring him worked, Hinata," Kiba muttered.

"Hai." She dropped her head in defeat.

The next moment a loud slamming of a door confronted the group, followed by loud curses. They all turned their attention to the noise and found Sakura marching down the corridor towards them.

"-that Tsunade, always abusing me! Her and her temper! I can only handle so many things at once and what does she do compared to me? Nothing! Absolutely no-" Sakura stopped midstride when she noticed Team 8 in front of her. "Hey," she greeted nervously. Her smile faded. "You heard all that, didn't you?" They all nodded in confirmation.

"We'd be lying if we said we hadn't," Kiba stated sympathetically. Sakura sighed heavily and fixed her crumpled shirt.

"Sorry you had to see that," she murmured with embarrassment, her cheeks turned pink. She regained her composure and tried to remain cheerful. "So, I assume you're here to see Tsunade-sama?"

"Hai," Hinata answered for them. Sakura chuckled slightly.

"Well, good luck. Feel free to enter at any time," Sakura offered and gestured towards the door that was a few paces behind her. "Although, I'd say you should wait a few more moments, so she can calm down a tad," Sakura whispered to them, gesturing with her fingers. "Just so she doesn't take off your heads the second you walk in." They nodded in thanks and Sakura smiled brightly. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have lots of important things to do."

She bid her farewell and continued her fast pace down the hall. Kiba, Hinata and Shino all glanced at each other before walking up to the office door. (They all noticed a section of the wall that looked new and unpainted) Kiba placed his hand on the doorknob and suddenly stopped.

"Hey, Sakura…?" He called down the hall.

"Hai?" A small pink head emerged from around the curving wall.

"Kiss-ass or professional?" Kiba asked

"Hmm." Sakura contemplated for a moment. "She's too paranoid today, so, professional." Kiba grinned.

"Thanks."

Sakura's head disappeared and they heard her footsteps recede in the direction of the bird messenger tower.

With a final nervous glance between the group, Kiba knocked on the door. A loud and unmistakable "Enter!" followed. They did as they were told and entered the room. Hinata quietly shut the door behind them before lining up with her team mates.

"Team 8 reporting," Shino informed quietly. He was always the best speaker on behalf of his team. Hinata was too quiet and meek and Kiba was, well… Kiba. He was too quick to jump to conclusions, and far too brash.

"Good, it's about time!" Tsunade snapped. Shizune, who was on the right of Tsunade, cringed. "We have no time for formalities. Are you three aware of the mission I gave Shikamaru and Temari?"

"My team mates are aware and they have informed me," Shino replied.

"Well then, I'll get straight to the point. Kiba." He stood up straight at the sound of his name being called. "After you informed us that you were the one who apprehended Hiroshi, obvious questions were raised, care to guess what they were?"

"Why he was there in the first place?" Hinata answered. Tsunade nodded.

"Exactly. Of course… the prince is no longer with us, so we can't ask him. We did, however, send a message to Kanketsusen (_AN: Japanese for 'Geyser' and the name of Geyser's main city._) asking them why their royalty was in Konoha's vicinity. Naturally, they have yet to reply."

"So, what's our mission?" Kiba asked with boredom.

"Kiba-kun!" Hinata whispered harshly.

"I'm getting there," Tsunade growled. "A few days after we sent the message Hyuuga Neji came to us with some… confusing information.

"Nii-san? But he wasn't assigned to a mission in the Geyser Country," Hinata argued. Tsunade rested her chin on her hand.

"Hai, but when he was returning back to Konoha he went through the Geyser Country and had his Byakugan activated… and well, he saw some… things."

"…things?" Kiba asked. His brow furrowed in concern.

"It was nothing sinister. It was just a little bit concerning." Tsunade adjusted herself in her seat before continuing. "Neji reported that he saw huge amounts of mercenaries in Kanketsusen, as well as a legion of soldiers and archers around the palace."

"What? Why would they need so many soldiers? They aren't planning to attack, are they?" Kiba asked in shock.

"It doesn't seem to be an attack since the armies haven't moved. But…"

"But?" Hinata questioned nervously.

"As Neji was leaving the country he said he spotted several shinobi three man teams patrolling around. He said it appeared as if…"

"They were looking for something," Shino finished.

"Or someone…" Kiba murmured.

"Exactly."

"I'm sure they are just trying to meet up with Shikamaru and Temari-san as soon as possible so they can obtain Hiroshi-heika," (_AN: Heika - __affixed to the end of a royal title._) Hinata rushed. Kiba skewed his mouth in concern.

"I hope that's it."

"As do I," Tsunade murmured. "But this is no time for pondering! Inuzuka Kiba, Hyuuga Hinata, Aburame Shino." They all stood at attention.

"Hai!" They chorused.

"Your mission is to investigate Kanketsusan, record any suspicious activity, and report to me immediately afterwards!"

"Hai!" They replied in unison.

"Wait, wait, wait," Kiba started suddenly. "Why are _we _doing this when Shikamaru and Temari are on their way there anyway? Couldn't _they_ write out a report for you?"

"Kiba, do you honestly believe that they are going to get there soon enough for Tsunade-sama?" Shino asked quietly after he turned to his team mate.

"I'm not sure I follow…" Kiba replied confusedly. Shino let out a light sigh.

"Shikamaru and Temari-san have to travel at the pace of a ten year old, in a carriage, carried by a twenty year old bull. We would get there before them, especially with Akamaru and Dokuya."

"Oh…" Kiba drew out the word far too long for Tsunade's patience.

"Enough of this banter, I want you to leave as soon as possible, and I expect you to report back by tonight, is that understood!" Tsunade shouted.

"Hai!"

"Good, now get go-"

_SLAM! _

"Sakura! How many times have I told you-"

"Sorry shishou," Sakura panted. "But, the reply from Kanketsusan came!" Sakura held up a small scroll in her hand. Tsunade's eyes widened and she quickly stood up from her desk, causing Shizune to barely manage to keep her balance before she fell over.

"Read it," Tsunade ordered.

"Uh… read it?" Sakura asked nervously.

"If you want me to remain your sensei I suggest you read it," Tsunade advised threateningly.

Sakura audibly gulped before opening up the scroll and reading the message aloud.

_Message to the Godaime of Konohagakure, Hidden Leaf Village._

_Information regarding Prince Hiroshi Kurono's recent appearance around Konoha's vicinity is classified. Your request for said information is denied._

_Regards,_

_His Majesty Hiroshi Yuuma, King of Kanketsusan._

"And the end is finished with his sig…nature…" Sakura's words dissipated as she looked closer at the scroll.

"Bastard!" Tsunade roared before slamming her fist into her desk. A deep crack resounded across the room making everyone recoil slightly. Hinata even squeaked. Tsunade was now in a very bad mood. "Well, what are you waiting for? Hurry up and leave for you mission!" She barked. Team 8 took the hint and excused themselves before vanishing out of the office in a puff of smoke.

Tsunade sat down moodily and huffed angrily, placing her head in her hands. She glanced up and saw that Sakura was still there and she was still staring intently at the scroll.

"What is it, Sakura?" Tsunade asked. Sakura looked up to her master before looking down at the scroll again.

"This message looks a little… off," Sakura remarked. "Something about it seems out of place. It's probably nothing, but I would like to have it checked."

"Very well, you're dismissed to do whatever you need to do."

"Arigatou, shishou." Like Team 8, Sakura disappeared in a puff of smoke.

x. .X. .x

"What'cha doing?" Kurono asked annoyingly whilst hovering over Temari's shoulder.

"Writing," she snapped.

"Well, I'm not paying you to write," Kurono stated pompously.

"You aren't the one paying us," Shikamaru remarked into Kurono's ear. The heir flew backwards in fright from being snuck up on.

"Where did you come from?!" Kuruno asked breathlessly, his eyes wide as saucers.

"My mother," Shikamaru answered dryly.

"Ew. That's gross!" The prince whined. Shikamaru laughed softly at the boy. It was a bit strange; he was a bit like Shikamaru when he was a kid. The royal stuck out his lip and pouted angrily at the Nara heir. He turned around and walked up behind Temari again, doing his best to ignore Shikamaru.

Temari growled when she felt Kurono behind her. He didn't budge. She gave up and returned her attention to the message she was writing.

Kurono peered over her shoulder and read her message.

_Godaime,_

_On the outskirts of Geyser. If all goes well we'll be at Kanketsusan tomorrow, late afternoon. Can't travel during the night. Kurono has Achluophobia._

_Regards,_

_T & S_

Temari stood up and bit into her finger, hard enough to draw blood. Kurono backed away from her sharply. Temari looked over her shoulder and raised an eyebrow before turning back and slamming both her palms into the ground.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu. (_Summoning Technique_)"

A small cloud of smoke appeared around her hands. It started to disappear when a blur of black shot towards Temari and settled on her shoulder. The blur of black turned out to be a marten. (_AN: Martens are slender and agile animals that are related to wolverines, minks and weasels._)

"Temari-chan!" it squealed.

"Hey there, Aimi," Temari greeted and stroked her head lovingly. After the marten was satisfied it darted onto Temari's other shoulder.

"What do you want me to do?" Aimi asked inquisitively.

"I need you to deliver this message to the Godaime in Konoha as soon as possible; do you think you can do that for me?"

"Of course!" She confirmed happily. Aimi carefully grabbed the scroll in Temari's hand with her teeth and raced off at an incredible speed. She was just a blur of silky black before she was completely gone.

Silence befell the group before Kurono spoke up.

"How… how did you know about… about, you know…" He asked softly. Temari smirked at him.

"Please, Kurono, a kid who is just afraid of the dark wouldn't run off like that," Temari replied knowingly.

"Or scream that loud," Shikamaru added.

Temari nodded. "It isn't difficult to figure out that you have a phobia of the dark."

Kurono whimpered. He began fiddling with his fingers and avoided eye contact with both of the adults. He hadn't felt this vulnerable in a long time. He felt as if he were open to public display, and everyone was judging him, like they always did.

"Please, don't tell anyone else," Kurono begged.

"Tell anyone?" Temari questioned. "Why would we do that?"

"Yeah, your fears aren't any of our business. Besides, it's far too troublesome to gossip about a ten year old," Shikamaru replied with a grin.

Kurono smiled gratefully at the pair, a smile that went from ear to ear, a kind of smile that rubbed off on everyone around you.

"I'll be eleven in a couple of days," Kurono remarked.

"Then how about we get you home before then?" Shikamaru offered. The prince nodded vigorously.

"Hey brat, it's going to get dark fairly soon. How about you stay in the carriage and light some candles?" Temari offered kindly. He nodded. His were eyes shining with gratitude. He carefully climbed into the carriage and closed the door behind him.

"That was awfully kind of you…" Shikamaru noted after a few moments of nothing but the sound of their footsteps and Ino's hooves against the dirt road.

"Yeah, well…" she thought of a reply for a few moments. "I have experience with scared little boys." She smirked at him. He chuckled to himself and lowered his head so she couldn't see his smile.

"You sure do..."

x. .X. .x

"Hinata, how far are we from the palace?" Kiba shouted to Hinata.

Team 8 were currently jumping through the treetops in Kanketsusan in search of the Hiroshi palace. They were moving as fast as possible since it was already late afternoon, early evening. The orange sun filtered through the tree leaves, reminding them it would be dark soon. Kiba was sitting atop Akamaru's back who was bounding through the tree tops. Both Shino and Hinata were sitting comfortably on Dokuya, Shino's summoned creature. Dokuya was a sleek and shining black Dragonfly.

"One moment." Hinata steadied herself before bringing two fingers in front of her eyes and closing them. "Byakugan!" Her eyes shot open and the veins in her face stood out vividly. She scanned her pearl eyes across the landscape. She looked towards the east and looked beyond the trees, magnifying her vision into the open field by the mountains. She drained the chakra from her eyes and deactivated her Byakugan. "It's over to the west, about five kilometres from here!"

"Right!" Kiba confirmed. Akamaru veered sharply to the left and Dokuya, carrying Shino and Hinata, followed quickly.

They rushed through the tree tops, from branch to branch, racing against the light of the sun. After a few minutes of travelling west a vast opening in the trees appeared. Kiba and Akamaru landed on the last branch looking ahead towards the Hiroshi palace. Dokuya landed next to them and allowed Hinata and Shino to dismount.

"Let's start with the basics," Kiba suggested. Both he and Akamaru stuck their noses into the air and sniffed. Kiba took a few deep breathes of the surrounding scent and at the same time allowed the chakra to flow into his nose. It hit him like a wave.

"Woah…" He sniffed again to make sure.

"What is it Kiba-kun? What do you smell?" Hinata asked inquisitively. Shino stuck his arms out and allowed his bugs to swarm out of his coat. The insects started chirping amoungst themselves.

"It's like…" He sniffed again. "Suffering, pain, maliciousness, greed… and most of all, evil intent." Hinata gasped, slightly horrified. Shino nodded solemnly. The swarm of Kikaichuu all chirped again before flying off towards the palace at impressive speed. When they neared the palace they split into groups, each group flew off in a different direction. Shino, Kiba and Hinata waited a few long moments before several insects returned and hovered around Shino's head.

He carefully listened to the Kikaichuu before reporting to his team mates. "There are five patrolling groups of mercenaries. Two other large groups of mercenaries along the path to the palace, as well as vast amounts of archers positioned at the palace and other random locations. The smallest group consists of a minimum of fifty units, the largest group, five hundred."

"That is a serious amount of troops," Kiba muttered to himself. Hinata quietly agreed. After a moment of thought Kiba addressed Hinata. "Hinata, you know what to do."

"Hai." Once again Hinata placed two fingers in front of her eyes. "Byakugan!"

As the veins stood out and the chakra flowed to her eyes, her bloodline ability activated. She maximized her vision to take in all her surroundings and zoomed in her view towards the palace. She used her eyes to strip the walls from the building so she could see through into the inside.

The chakra systems of the people inside stood out vividly. Hinata carefully scanned the top floor and saw nothing peculiar. She saw a few groups of people, presumably guards, patrolling throughout the top floor. That's a strange… why would they need security _inside_ the palace? Her eyes followed a trio of shinobi (judging by their large chakra systems) as they went down a level… and then another… then another? They went to the cellar?

Hinata made a puzzled noise in the back of her throat and Kiba picked up on her confusion.

"What is it, Hinata?" She ignored the question and closed her eyes slightly to hone in her vision slightly more. She followed the shinobi who were walking through the… what appeared to be a dungeon. Nobody seemed to be in there, except… she glanced towards the left and saw another person kneeling on the ground. It appeared to be a male, and judging by the chakra circulatory system he was over forty years old. But his chakra… it was darker… brighter… it looked a lot like…

Hinata gasped to herself. She had seen this type of chakra system before! Except it was in a different person! She turned to Shino sharply. "Shino-kun, quickly send one of your bugs into the cellar of the palace!" She commanded urgently. "Look at the cell at the back of the north west wing!" Without any protest Shino sent out one Kikaichuu. It darted off quickly.

"Hinata, what is it?" Kiba asked again, more hurriedly this time. Hinata ignored him again. But Kiba could smell the panic and worry she was emitting. Akamaru whined. He could smell it too. Tension hung in the air as the team waited for the Kikaichuu to return.

Kiba felt the anxiety in Hinata worsen when the insect flew back to Shino and flew around his head energetically, chirping faintly and fanatically. Although it was hard to see, they saw Shino's eyes widen in shock.

"Shino-kun, is it…?" Hinata trailed off.

"Hai." He confirmed.

"We have to get back to Godaime immediately! We have to inform her about this!" Hinata's hair swayed violently as she begged her team to return back to Konoha.

"Indeed, this is most certainly important information."

Both Shino and Hinata quickly mounted atop of Dokuya. Shino hastily told her to return back to Konoha. She did as instructed and opened up her impressive metallic wings. She launched off the tree branch and readied herself for the journey back home.

"Come on, Kiba-kun!" Hinata encouraged.

"Will someone please tell me what the hell's going on?!" He demanded angrily. Akamaru barked in agreement.

"Hurry! I'll explain on the way!" Hinata shouted before Dokuya darted off into the forest, out of sight in a matter of seconds.

"Jeez," Kiba groaned to himself as he sat on Akamaru's back. He looked over his shoulder. Akamaru whimpered quietly. Kiba took one more glance (and one more smell) of the palace before turning his attention to the back of Akamaru's head. "Yeah, I've got a bad feeling about this too, buddy…" He revealed before the dog nin hastily kicked off the branch and began to race through the treetops.

x. .X. .x

The fire crackled soothingly and basked Shikamaru and Temari in its soft glow.

They had decided to make camp in a calm field. The next part of their journey would require them meeting the dangerous part of their trip through the Volcano Country. The next part of the journey would need to be travelled through an old tunnel that ran under the largest volcano in the country. They couldn't afford to travel through there now. If Kurono woke up and had a panic attack because of the dark he could scare the bull, which could run off into a dangerous zone or into danger… or worse, into one of the country's many lava pits.

They weren't sure what time it was. All they knew was that it was dark. The country's skies were full of ash that were emitted from the active volcanoes. When in the centre of the country it was extremely rare to see the light of day.

Temari sighed audibly and leaned back until she was lying on the ground and staring at the dark sky. Not a star in sight. Wasn't surprising. "What a day," she breathed.

Shikamaru sat on the ground, slightly hunched over. "Yeah…" he agreed. He wasn't sure which part of the day she was referring to. Was it the journey, Kurono, or the tiny little fact that she made out with him and then refused to talk about it? He doubted she was referring to the latter. Since she was trying to ignore it and all.

Temari knew he was thinking about the little… 'hiccup' they had earlier. She wanted everything to be ok between them. She didn't want to lose a friendship. Especially when he was the only true friend she had.

"So… how's you mother?" she asked awkwardly. She was just trying to make conversation.

Shikamaru laughed to himself. Temari was certainly trying very hard to get his mind off earlier. "Troublesome, as always," he muttered in annoyance. "But you know, it's not too bad since I moved out of the house." He lay down and stared up at the sky like Temari. "Although she sometimes has these little panic attacks about my well being. Exceedingly troublesome."

Temari laughed softly. "I'll bet." The sounds of crickets filled the air. The breeze picked up and played with the loose strands of their hair and made the fire dance. The only thing that would have made that moment perfect would have been stars. "Must be nice, having a mother who worries about you," Temari muttered softly. Shikamaru adjusted his head and looked at her carefully. She had a small smile on her face, lost in thought.

"How are your brothers?" Shikamaru returned the favour and asked a question. Temari smirked to herself.

"Kankurou is as difficult as ever, but you couldn't expect any less of him. Would you believe he has a girlfriend now?" Shikamaru let out an amused laugh. "Yeah, that was my reaction too." Temari opted for a moment of silence and appreciated it. She looked over at Ino who was grazing calmly. She kept her gaze on the bull as she continued. "Gaara is the same as always. He works himself so hard." She stopped for a moment and wondered whether she should continue. "He is struggling to sleep," she said quietly.

Shikamaru looked at her again; her expression was pained and almost lost. She stared up the sky interestedly. Her eyes were sapphire now, reflecting the light of the fire.

Temari took a deep breath before carrying on. "But apart from all that they are doing alright. Although, I'm not going to sit here and pretend it's easy. Looking after them is hard, especially Gaara. Whenever I try to comfort him I always get drawn back into the past… brings back painful memories."

Shikamaru sat in silence, not sure on what to say. This was the first time she was opening up about her past. Did he want to sit there and listen or stop her before she made herself feel horrible? On the other hand… maybe she wanted to get it off her chest. He didn't know how to approach this subject.

"What kind of memories?" He asked quietly. He was trying his luck and playing the role of the shrink. (And an understanding friend.)

She frowned slightly and lay in silence. Shikamaru thought that that was the end of that before she shocked him (and herself) by opening up. "Memories about my childhood. How Gaara scared Kankurou and I. How he had threatened to kill me, and even tried on a few occasions. And especially when my father told me he didn't want me. He didn't want a daughter. I was a mistake..." She closed her eyes tightly. "I wasn't wanted." Shikamaru felt like he was being compressed under a ton of bricks. What in hell's name was he supposed to say to that?!

Temari opened her eyes slowly and composed herself. She turned her head to the side and gazed into Shikamaru's eyes and smiled sadly. "But the past is the past, right?"

"Temari…"

"MOTHER!!"

Temari and Shikamaru shot up instantly. "What the hell was that?" Temari asked in bewilderment. She looked around hastily.

"It sounded like Kurono!" Shikamaru replied. Temari quickly stood up and rushed over to the carriage, and almost pulled the door from its hinges.

"Kurono?" Temari asked softly. Her eyes steadily adjusted to the dark and took in the sight of a terrified ten year old huddled into a ball in the corner. "Hey brat… are you ok?" She asked quietly. Kurono was hugging himself and shaking lightly with sobs.

"Mother…" he whimpered. His eyes were wide with fear; thick streams of tears fell down his cheeks. He was shaking, small little shivers that wracked his small frame. "So dark…"

"Oh… Kurono…" Temari climbed into the carriage slowly and crawled towards him. She knew this fear. She knew this terror. She knew this pain. More than anyone else.

Shikamaru steadily walked up to the carriage. He discreetly looked inside. Temari had carefully wrapped her arms about the small boy and held his closely. Kurono was still sitting in a hunched up ball, staring straight into nothing. "So much blood…" He whimpered, completely terrified. Temari pulled him closer towards her and held him tightly.

"Sssh, it's ok. Everything's ok," she whispered gently. Kurono closed his eyes tightly and wrapped his small arms around Temari's waist. His tiny body shook with sobs and hiccups. Temari gently stroked his hair and pressed her left cheek against his crown. She was acting on pure understanding. She knew how a child wanted to be held at a moment like this. She knew because, at one point in her life, she was that child.

Temari carefully comforted the terrified boy and looked towards the entrance of the carriage, where Shikamaru was standing. She kept his gaze. Shikamaru didn't need anymore information, he knew, as did Temari, what had happened. Temari's expression looked pained and her body language towards Kurono was awkward and tender. Her façade was stripped; her emotions were out in the open. Her past experiences were open for public display as she comforted the boy. She didn't want to be seen this way.

Shikamaru nodded gently and began to close the door slowly. Temari smiled gratefully at him. He felt his heart thump painfully at that smile, and at the way she was acting towards Kurono.

It was just like his father said. Even the toughest women were tender to the one's they loved.

He softly closed the door and leaned his back against it. He still managed to hear Kurono's cries.

"She's dead… Mother's dead…"

x. .X. .x

"Tsunade-sama, you should really go home and rest," Shizune advised. Tonton, who was in Shizune's arms, nodded in agreement.

"I know I should," Tsunade groaned. "But I'm not going until Team 8 returns with the information I need."

Shizune sighed in defeat and dropped her head. "Fine, I'll stay too." Tsunade looked at her apprentice quizzically.

"You don't need to stay here, Shizune. _You_ should go home and get some rest."

"No, it wouldn't be fair." Shizune grinned brightly at her master. "Besides, what would you do without your apprentice?" Tonton snorted happily. Tsunade couldn't help but smile. She was truly blessed with kind and dedicated subordinates.

"Shishou!" Both Shizune and Tsunade looked towards the office door that was flung open abruptly. Sakura ran up to the desk looking frazzled and panicked. Tsunade looked at her slightly concerned.

"What is it Sakura? Have Team 8 returned?"

"No, shishou," she panted. "It's the letter, it's urgent."

"Explain," Tsunade barked. Sakura took in a deep breath before continuing.

"I was right when I thought it looked strange. I thought that the signature looked odd. So I took it to the experts across town and looked at previous letters from Kanketsusan-"

"Get to the point!" Tsunade commanded, Sakura was making her on edge.

"It's the king's signature…" Sakura began.

"Yes?"

"It's been forged."

x. .X. .x

"What did you find?"

"The pair sent from Konoha with Kurono-henkai, they have arrived."

"Perfect. Where are they?"

"They have set up camp for the night. Tomorrow they should be travelling through the path underneath the Enshi Mountains."

"Excellent…"

Silence.

Evil smirk.

"Arrange a little… welcome party for them."

"Hai, Hiroshi-sama."

* * *

_A/N: Now this chapter has taken a while._

_Like I said before, each chapter has a set plot line, and if it's not completed, the chapter isn't done. No matter how many words each chapter is written to the plot and certain things have to happen in each chapter. So as you'll find, some are long and some are shorter. _

_Now about the story. \o/ This story was originally very light hearted and fun, but now... it's taking it's major plot turn and twist. It is going to get very interesting from here folks! I hope I have you confused and intrigued. _

_Please review and tell me about your theories about what you think is going on. It's great to hear them, because then I can understand how the readers feel about the story. And I will know if I have you all thrown for a loop ;D _

_Please review, please guess, please theorize and please continue reading._

_Writing this story is a blast!_

_-Ze chan.  
_


	6. Chapter 6: Can You Triumph?

_A/N: My god, it's been a while._

_It's so weird reading the beggining stuff of this chapter because it was written in February. I mean, wow. That was some time ago. _

_One thing I tried very hard with this chapter was trying to get Kiba and Hinata in character. I hope I accomplished it. _

_I explained why this took so long at the end of the story... so just enjoy!  
_

_

* * *

_

**Royal Delivery**

**Chapter Six – Can You Triumph?**

**

* * *

**

_Darkness enveloped him. _

_Taking small and tired steps he carefully left his bedroom and closed the door behind him. He whimpered slightly as he looked down the hall. He didn't like the dark. He tightened the grip around the teddy bear under his arm._

_He stood up straight and puffed up his chest and walked bravely down the enormous hallway. He looked warily up at the ceiling, which was so high that it was hard to see because of the darkness that collected around it. He shuffled past the great tall windows that streamed little amounts of moonlight inside._

_The rain outside the window pattered against the glass. The distant rumbles of thunder echoed in the distance. _

_Trying to warn him of the upcoming evil._

_The darkness swirled around him, seemingly enclosing on his heart. He picked up his pace and turned down the long grand hallway towards the vast staircase. He heard distant footsteps and small creaks. They were the sounds that accompanied the night, usually nothing to worry about._

"_Kurono!"_

_He turned around sharply and saw his mother halfway down the hall, her white nightgown fluttering in an unknown breeze. She was such a pretty woman, such a pretty mother, so tall and elegant. His heart warmed with the familiarity of her presence. Her familiar long black hair that hung gracefully down her shoulders and past her back, her familiar fair complexion that was so beautiful, her familiar piercing warm blue eye-_

_They were filled with panic._

"_Mommy?" He questioned. He stood idle for a moment before shuffling towards her with open arms, a large smile present on his face. "Mommy!" _

_She rushed forwards, her dress billowing behind her, and quickly leant down and placed her hands under his arms and picked him up quickly. His bear fell out of his arms and landed on the ground. He pouted and tried to reach down for it but his mother turned around quickly and dashed off. _

"_Mommy?" he asked, his face was twisted with confusion._

"_Ssh, be quiet," she whispered hurriedly. He observed her eyes, they were worried and concerned. Full of fear._

"_Mommy, where are we going?" He asked. Seeing his mother so afraid was starting to make him scared._

"_Kurono, I told you to be quiet!" She whispered angrily. But it was the anger that was derived from panic._

_He whimpered slightly. She tightened the hold on her son and looked at him apologetically. "I'm sorry my baby, I'm sorry." She opened the door in front of them quietly but quickly, hurrying inside. _

_She didn't waste any time and carefully placed him on the floor, in front of the vast tall windows. Her dress pooled around her as she kneeled in front of him. She stroked his hair tenderly and he looked up worriedly._

"_Now Kurono, mommy needs you to stay here," his mother reasoned, a tear fell from each eye. _

"_W-where's daddy?" He asked timidly._

"_Daddy's fine," she whispered to him. "Daddy's fine." A few more tears escaped as she stroked his hair again. _

"_Mommy?" He was very scared now._

"_Ssh, it's ok, Kurono, everything's going to be ok."_

"_There you are, Akira-denka."_

_Akira shot upwards in front of Kurono. He couldn't see the man's face; it was only shrouded in darkness._

"_Please…" she begged. "Please don't do this." She was crying, he could tell. He sat behind her in shock, petrified. "Please… don't."_

_He saw an evil glint that shone brightly. It shone in a metre long strip. _

"_Please!" She begged loudly. "Don't do this! I have a son! You know he needs me!" The tears were falling without control. Her voice was cracked and she was trembling. "Please…" _

_The man closed in on them, not even faltering._

"_Please no… no…" He stood closer. "No, don't you dare hurt him." He was within her touching distance. "NO!" He felt her smother him, holding him so closely. He looked up at her face; the tear trails were so vivid. She was trembling dangerously. Then it happened._

_He saw the evil glint pierce through her chest and push out past his face. It seemed to just stay there, for seconds of dead silence. _

_Then the blood began to flow._

_The glint withdrew, pulling through his mother and out. Her eyes were large; the blood stained her pure dress. Her knees hit the floor and the blood followed. It streamed from the wound in her chest and down towards the floor, slowly puddling around her and him. He felt her blood under his fingers._

_His eyes wide, the tears leaked on their own free will. His breaths were labored as he looked up at his beautiful, graceful, elegant mother and saw her slump onto the back of her legs and look him in the eye._

_The blood passed through her lips as she spoke._

"_Mommy loves you…"_

_Her body slumped onto the floor, her blood and hair fanned around her. He felt the blood all around him. Her blood and the darkness consuming him, suffocating him, crushing him, mocking him. _

_The murderer left them as Kurono fell to his hands and knees over his mother._

_She wasn't breathing._

"_MOTHER!"_

He shot up and saw the darkness as it was that night. Enclosing on him. He felt another presence and he held onto them.

She didn't smell like Mother. She didn't sound like Mother. She didn't feel like Mother.

But he felt _safe._

x. .X. .x

"Found anything yet?" Jiraiya asked softly.

Tsunade sighed deeply and leaned back in her chair slightly. She closed her eyes momentarily and laced her fingers together.

"If only… we've been trying all night…" Tsunade replied slowly. Jiraiya frowned; Tsunade was on the verge of collapse because she was so drained. She hadn't slept last night or yesterday.

"We?" Jiraiya asked carefully. He had to be careful with how he approached his questions and answers. Tsunade was at the end of a very long and thin rope. "Shizune and Sakura were helping you?"

"Hai…" She confirmed tiredly. She rested her fingers against her temples and kept her eyes closed. "I told them to get some rest, repeatedly," she began. "But they wouldn't listen."

"Hah, sounds like someone I know…" Jiraiya mused. Tsunade shot him a stern glare before leaning back, reclosing her eyes and recollecting her train of thought.

"Shizune, I can understand. She has been with me a long time and has grown used to this ridiculous schedule we lead. But Sakura…" Tsunade opened her eyes for a moment and Jiraiya could see the concern swimming in them. "That girl…"

He pulled up and chair and sat across from Tsunade. She glanced at him from the bottom of her eyes and Jiraiya kept her gaze. After a sigh Tsunade sat up straight and continued to elaborate on her thoughts.

"All she ever does is help and train. Whatever I say she does. She works so hard and is only ever rewarded with more work and hardly any praise. Yet, she still continues to work hard, to the brink of exhaustion, to become an outstanding medical nin and I am grateful that she is so loyal to me and her work. But…"

Tsunade reached over the table towards the sake bottle. Jiraiya sharply caught her hand and sent her a warning glance. She skewed her mouth severely in complaint but didn't reach for the bottle.

"…she is so young. She should be enjoying life, being with friends. Maybe even finding a boyfriend, I don't know! She should just be young and free, work shouldn't be taking up all of her life… she… just needs to rest sometimes." Tsunade looked down towards her hand that was now threaded with Jiraiya's.

"You do too, Tsunade," he commented needlessly. She raised her eyes to his and looked into them as she opted for silence so she could think.

"Yes, but, I am no longer young," She remarked playfully. "Regardless of my looks…"

Jiraiya did not laugh, as she expected.

The silence weighed down on her. She could hear the birds' soft callings outside her window; on any other day they would relax her but now all they did was highlight the fact that there was suffocating expecting silence. Jiraiya let go of her hand and leant back. Tsunade got the hint.

"I don't know what to do," she revealed. "Team 8 hasn't returned yet and I don't know what's going on… I don't like it." She chanced a glance at Jiraiya.

"Neither do I, but all we can do is wait." He paused for a moment before asking. "What is being done at the moment?"

"Protocol," Tsunade stated as she stood up and walked towards the window. "Shizune is looking at Kanketsusan's recent events; maybe we might find some abnormalities that could explain the absence of Yuuma."

"So, you're assuming he's MIA?" Jiraiya questioned. Tsunade looked away from the window towards him.

"And you don't? Why would Yuuma's signature be forged if he was alive and well? Obviously something has happened to him."

"Someone could be acting as him behind his back; kind of like… two kings, albeit Yuuma doesn't know of the imposter," Jiraiya offered.

"Don't be so naïve Jiraiya. Kanketsusan's security isn't slack enough for that to happen." Tsunade turned back to the window and looked at the view. "No, something is definitely amiss."

Jiraiya accepted her thinking willingly and placed his hands behind his head. "And what about Sakura? What is she doing?"

"She is reading over the family tree of the Kanketsusan Royal Family. According to the Protocol of Monarchial Nations: if one shinobi nation suspects anything strange with another allied shinobi nation's leader we must contact the next of kin in the royal family," Tsunade tried to explain. Monarchies and Protocol often got confusing.

"So Sakura is looking for a relative of Yuuma, aside from Kurono, to… contact about our suspicions… correct?" Jiraiya tried.

"According to Shinobi Protocol, yes." Tsunade sighed deeply as she watched a flock of birds fly by the window. Jiraiya noticed this easily.

"Tsunade-hime?" He asked gently.

"I'm getting too old for this, Jiraiya. I think it's time I retired."

x. .X. .x

Shikamaru wished he could see the sky.

He glanced up moodily towards where the bright blue, cloud filled sky should be. Instead all he saw was dark grey and red ash. In a way this sky was beautiful, if you liked dark.

Because of the many active volcanoes in the Volcano Country the sky would forever be filled with ash. It was rumored that the inhabitants of Kyuukazan, (_AN: Literally translated as "dormant volcano") _the main city in the Volcano Country, hadn't seen sunlight in over 10 years. He had even heard from Sakura that every month the inhabitants of the city had to go to medical nins to receive 'medical sunlight' so that their skin and health was unaffected from the lack of sunlight. He wouldn't be surprised if they did become ill due to the fact that Kyuukazan was located on the world's largest volcano. The ash was extreme since they were so high up. At least the volcano was dormant.

Shikamaru sighed deeply. He had a reasonable amount of respect for those who lived in Kyuukazan; he couldn't even imagine waking up to _this _every day. Of course the other half of him thought that they were just plain insane. Who could actually live here, let alone want to?

He heard a cough from behind him and he glanced over slightly.

Temari carefully stepped down from the carriage, covering her mouth with her hand.

"God, the air is thick with ash," Temari muttered distastefully. She walked beside him and quickly became in step with his rhythm. "I'm assuming we're near the Enshi Mountains by the degree of ash." She coughed again.

"Yeah, we are," he confirmed as he looked at the sky again. "We'll probably arrive at the Enshi path in about five minutes, give or take."

"I see…" Temari glanced at Shikamaru and followed his gaze to the sky and then back to him. "The clouds look _fabulous _today, don't they," she asked sarcastically.

He glanced at her darkly and she stuck her tongue out at him. He then took a moment to look at her.

Her hair was messy and her yukata was creased and ruffled… and _loose._ Shikamaru's cheeks went pink and he looked away sharply. She scowled at him.

"What is it?" She asked.

"Your… uh… shirt is loose…" He muttered awkwardly. Out of habit his hand went behind his head. Temari looked down and hastily grabbed her drooping collar with one hand and held it up and closed. Even a hard woman like Temari couldn't contain the reddening of her cheeks.

"Thanks…" She held her collar tightly with embarrassment. Great. Now Shikamaru knew exactly what kunoichis wear under their clothes. _Great. _

When he was looking up at the sky again she began to fix her yukata. She didn't like this silence, especially in a place like this. Everywhere was dark and relatively quiet. Without conversation from a friend it felt as if you were being swallowed up by the silence. She didn't like it.

She looked down at her collar as she fixed it. "Figures, the first time I get to second base is with a ten year old." He glanced at her and couldn't help but crack a smile.

So she could feel it too, the darkness, and she didn't like it either. That put him at ease, knowing that there was someone here with him. And why were their suddenly butterflies in his stomach!

"You? First time?" He asked cheekily.

"What is that supposed to mean!" Without any thought she slapped him upside the head. He yelped slightly and rubbed his head.

"I was just joking!" Shikamaru defended.

"You're so troublesome!" she huffed. She blinked in realization. Oh no she didn't…

"Did you just-?" Shikamaru's smirk grew.

"Shut up!" Temari snapped and crossed her arms. She breathed out haughtily. Ugh, she could _feel _that stupid smirk of his.

A sudden sharp gust of wind ripped past them and whipped at her yukata and her pigtails. She stumbled slightly as she hastily pushed the stray hair behind her ear. It didn't go unnoticed.

Shikamaru turned to face her, she looked troubled. Her bright teal eyes narrowed slightly, her hand seemed to have frozen behind her ear. She was beyond alert.

"What is it?" he asked. All traces of their previous humour demolished by the sudden feeling of anxiousness.

"The wind-" Once again the wind ripped past and Temari teetered slightly. "The wind is giving me a bad feeling."

No further words were needed, Shikamaru could feel it too.

Something was going to happen.

"Come on, the Enshi path is up ahead, we should hurry." Shikamaru advised. Temari nodded and they soon began to quicken their pace towards the entrance of the tunnel path. The ominous wind blew around them as they entered.

"The Mountain of Death, Enshi Mountain…" She muttered before they were engulfed by the mountain.

x. .X. .x

"How is he, Sakura?" Kiba asked in concern. The pink haired medic untied her hair and it fell carelessly onto her shoulders. She heaved a great sigh before turning her tired eyes towards him and smiling brightly.

"He is going to be just fine," she informed. Kiba breathed a sigh of relief. "It's only because you got him to me so quickly." Sakura rubbed her hands together and glanced over her shoulder. "Shino was lucky."

Kiba shifted uncomfortably and winced suddenly. His hand gripped his bandaged arm. "Damn thing," he cursed under his breath. Sakura patted his shoulder gently. "Remember to take it easy, I may have healed the break but your arm is still tender and fragile." Kiba nodded. Sakura peered over his shoulder.

"I'll heal you next, Hinata," Sakura offered gently. Hinata gave her thanks before walking towards Sakura and showing Sakura her arm for an examination. Kiba quickly scattered off the spare hospital bed and offered it to Hinata.

"It appears you have fractured your arm, broken your wrist-" Hinata yelped in pain when Sakura placed her hands on Hinata's shoulder. "-and dislocated your shoulder." She frowned deeply. Hinata looked down in unnecessary shame. Kiba looked at his teammate with worry.

"Hinata, why didn't you tell me that you were hurt?"

Hinata looked down at her feet. "I didn't want to worry you about me when Shino-kun needed our help." Her habit of fidgeting that she tried to fight returned from the pressure of the situation. She heard a frustrated sigh before a hand gripped her shoulder.

"Oi, Hinata, stop talking like that," Kiba scolded. "And stop thinking lowly about yourself. You are a part of this team and just as important – if not more so! Ok?" He grinned at her sheepishly. "Trust me, we wouldn't be the same team without you to calm me down and pull Shino out of his sulks."

Hinata blinked a few times before her eyes brightened with gratitude. "Thank you, Kiba." And his wolfish grin was back. "But, Kiba-kun?"

"Hmm, what is it?"

"That's my dislocated shoulder you have your hand on," she informed sweetly.

"Ah! I'm sorry!" Kiba shot backwards and tripped over Akamaru who was lying down and fell to the floor ungracefully. "Damn, that was brilliant," he growled sarcastically over his friend's soft laughter.

A few minutes later, just after Sakura was done with healing Hinata's injuries, Tsunade strode into the room looking thoroughly upset; until she laid her eyes upon Team 8.

Kiba's arm was in a sling that was slung around his neck for support. He had a few scratches and bandages in random places and he had a deep gash up across his cheek that ended just below his eye.

Shino lay in a hospital bed seemingly unconscious with several bandages wound around his head. Yet, his dented and chipped glasses still remained on his face. (Kiba and Hinata had gently returned his glasses to their former place – Shino deserved to save some face.)

Hinata, the woman of the team, was definitely in the worst shape, by the looks of it at least. Her jacket was shredded and her net undershirt showed through clearly. Her arms were mapped with many scrapes and gashes that went deep into her skin. Small amounts of blood stained her clothes and fair skin. Her usual lilac tinted eyes were white as snow, a clear sign of chakra exhaustion in her eyes. And her once long beautiful hair was cut jaggedly above her shoulders.

"Hey Tsunade, sorry we're late," Kiba broke the silence with a forced joke.

She shut the door calmly; all traces of her former anger had all but evaporated.

Hinata tried to stand up to greet her but she staggered slightly before falling back onto the bed. She was too weak to move.

"Save your strength," Tsunade ordered quietly. Both Hinata and Kiba relaxed slightly but neither looked away from their Hokage. Tsunade pulled up a chair to face them. "Tell me what happened."

Hinata and Kiba exchanged glances before Kiba began to explain what he knew.

"Around sunset we made it to Hiroshi Palace in Kanketsusan, and we followed standard procedure. I sniffed out the area – it smelled awful, but it wasn't a physical smell-"

"Kiba-kun said it smelled like suffering and pain… and evil intent," Hinata added.

"Right." Kiba nodded at his teammate before he continued. "After I told Hinata and Shino Hinata activated her Byakugan and saw…" He offered for Hinata to continue. She nodded solemnly. "I thought that my eyes were lying to be at first because I saw a prisoner – In the Hiroshi Palace dungeon – that had a chakra system that matched Hiroshi-heika."

Tsunade made a sound of alarm. "You don't mean…?"

"Hai," Hinata responded. "Shino-kun sent out his Kikaichuu to confirm my suspicions."

"-And?" Tsunade pressed.

Hinata looked down and spoke slowly. "I was right, it was Hiroshi Yuuma."

"What? The King?" Kiba shouted. He had not known this information.

"But Shino's bugs could have been wrong. I mean, they are insects-" Tsunade reasoned. She was a bit desperate at this point.

"No." Hinata shook her head. "Hiroshi-sama's chakra system matched Kurono-heika's in a way that only a parent and child can possess. It _was_ Hiroshi Yuuma."

Tsunade lay back in her chair in a dazed state. She never expected to receive information like this. Her hand rested on her temple as she tried to think in the hushed silence. Yuuma, the King of Kanketsusan, was in his own dungeon?! Then who was- This was a trail of thought for later.

"Please, continue." For now she needed all the facts.

"Alright," Kiba agreed. "After we made the discovery we began to travel back, having every intention of making the midnight deadline. But around the time when the sun was almost down… we were attacked."

"Attacked?!" Tsunade shouted, outraged. "By who?" She demanded.

"That's the thing. I'm not sure since they wore no headbands, but I think they belonged to Kanketsusan-"

"How can you decide something like that?"

"They wore blue sashes which, if I recall correctly, means they shinobi who protect royalty."

"Blue sash…" Tsunade held her chin as she wracked her brain. "What was their element?" She had a hunch… she hoped she was wrong.

"I'm actually not sure, it was so weird. It was transparent, and it was impossibly hard."

"It was diamond," Hinata revealed.

"Diamond?!" Kiba shouted. "No way!"

Tsunade winced, her hunch was correct. Their situation was getting worse by the second. Tsunade crossed her legs and closed her eyes for a moment. "How do you know this Hinata?" She was clinging to the hope that Hinata was somehow mistaken.

"Well… you see… when we were ambushed… they attacked Shino-kun first. He never saw it coming and he fell and... – Then Dokuya went to rescue him and I had to dismount."

"And as this was happening I was covering them," Kiba interjected. "Akamaru and I attacked them with Gatsuuga (_Dual Piercing Fang_). Any normal armored person would have been ripped to shreds but… their armor was perfectly intact, there was barely a single scratch… and then everything went black."

Hinata quickly jumped in before Tsunade began to question.

"Kiba-kun was knocked unconscious. It turned out that they could manipulate their armor into weapons." Tsunade frowned deeply.

"I see…"

"Shisho-" Sakura spoke up in concern.

Immediately she was silenced by a hand from the Hokage. "Continue please, Hinata."

Hinata began to press her fingers together; her way of fidgeting. Her cheeks turned slightly pink from embarrassment; yet her hair was filled with pride about what she was about to tell.

"When Kiba-kun was unconscious he fell from the trees and landed on the ground. I'm guessing that's when his arm broke." Kiba shifted slightly, feeling a bit ashamed. "I told Akamaru to take him away from the battle area. Dokuya never returned so I assumed she had done the same."

Hinata took her time to breathe before explaining further.

"As soon as Akamaru was gone I was ambushed by the shinobi again – there were two of them, two men – I defended myself and struck with a Juuken (_Gentle Fist_) to the chest. I made sure to infuse my hand with chakra so that it was strong and sharp… but as soon as I struck him my wrist broke." Hinata did not want to mention how excruciatingly painful it had been. "And that's when I knew it was diamond, only diamond is stronger than pure chakra."

Tsunade nodded in agreement, she knew full well.

"But how did you escape, Hinata?" Sakura asked in interest and concern.

"Well… when I was nursing my wrist I activated my Byakugan and I examined their armor. I managed to track down the source and flow of chakra and from that I found the weakest point in their armor."

"Weakest point? How could there be a weak point?" Kiba asked. "It's freaking diamond!"

"For them to be able to keep the armor on themselves and maintain its strength they need to supply it with a constant flow of chakra. The armor was arranged in plates which is why they were able to move so freely – there was no armor around their joints to slow them down."

"Ok, I understand that but how-?"

"You see Kiba, since the armor is designed in plate like structures the places where each plate joins are the most weakest points because the flow of chakra to those areas isn't as strong as in the rest of the armor, therefore if they are struck in the right place in the right way the armor will shatter; or fall from the body."

"Amazing…" Sakura commented in awe.

"And you saw all of this?" Kiba asked, shocked.

"Hai," Hinata muttered shyly. "I managed to pinpoint the weakest points and break their armor from their body. When they were exposed I attacked with Hakke Hyaku Nijuuhachi Shou (_Eight Trigrams: One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms_) to all their pressure points." Hinata looked away from everyone and spoke with a hint of sadness. "Nobody could survive that…"

"Hakke Hyaku Nijuuhachi Shou? Isn't that-?"

"Hai, Neji-nii-san has taught me a few things." Hinata smiled cutely.

Everyone turned towards Tsunade who had begun to chuckle to herself.

"Well," she spoke cheerfully. "As I see it, you have certainly proved yourself Hinata."

"Tsunade-sama-" Hinata was silenced by Tsunade.

"In my eyes you don't need any exams or tests… Hyuuga Hinata."

"Hai?"

"I hereby bestow the rank of Jounin to you." Hinata gasped in shock that was muffled behind her hands. "Do Konoha proud."

"H-H-Hai!" She began bowing and thanking profusely. Tsunade laughed lightly at the young woman who Kiba was now trying to relax.

"Sakura, are you done here?" Tsunade asked quietly over the thanking of Hinata and the calming words of Kiba.

"Hai shisho, everyone here has been healed," Sakura replied.

"Good, please follow me, we have serious matters to attend to." Sakura nodded and bid farewell before leaving with her master.

"Arigatou!" Hinata called after them.

"Jeez Hinata, don't bottle up your gratitude," Kiba remarked sarcastically. Hinata went pink with embarrassment. Kiba grinned at her before he slung his arm around her shoulders. She just went a darker shade of pink.

"You know I'm just joking around." Kiba lead her out of the medical room. "Congratulations." Kiba gave his teammate a friendly hug. "You deserved it."

"A-Arigatou Kiba." Hinata still slightly resembled a deer caught in the headlights.

"And hey, look at it this way, now Naruto has no reason not to ask you out!" He grinned, gave her a slap on the back and bolted. Hinata went crimson.

"K-K-Kiba!" Hinata stuttered in embarrassment.

Her only reply was his laughter echoing down the hall.

x. .X. .x

Temari had never been in this country before. And she had never seen magma.

There was a first time for everything, apparently.

Temari choked on a new wave of ash and steam that washed over her. The ground beneath her feet was dusty and slippery with dead ash that had been dormant for a while. Even though this country was a hellhole; it was beautiful. It was proven as her and Shikamaru walked into the vast cavern inside the volcano.

"My God…" Temari uttered. To say the cavern was vast would have been an understatement. It was large enough for loud echoes and the corners were pitch black with thick shadows; it was unaffected by the bright crimson and orange light dancing up the walls. The light was emitted from the thick pool of magma yards below them. It bubbled and spat ferociously as if it was threatening to engulf them.

Although the cavern was large the path was not. It was about the width of double of Konoha's main road. But the path was in a triangular shape; wider from the back and got thinner towards the front.

A bright stream of white light appeared at the very end of the path, signifying life and breathable air.

"And I thought Suna was potentially life threatening…" Shikamaru remarked after peering over the edge of the path.

"Hey, watch what you say about my homeland," Temari warned.

He smirked at her. "Yeah, I know, you have warned me before."

"Then, you'd be wise to take that warning," she replied smoothly. Shikamaru noted that her strut had returned and she walked confidently again. It was getting harder and harder to ignore any feelings he might have for her, but they agreed that that would be for later.

A few moments later the carriage door opened and Kurono elegantly descended onto the path. He had his head held up high and his lip was tightly shut. He looked just as he did on the day they had met him.

He glanced around at his surroundings, a pinprick of fear echoed throughout his body; but he ignored it. Instead he turned towards his "escorts".

Temari looked at him gently and stopped Shikamaru from walking so she could address him.

"Hey Kurono, how are you feeling?" She asked softly. This was certainly alien for Temari, and it felt so strange to say things in that tone of voice. But scarily enough she found that she didn't hate it completely. Shikamaru leant back and stared at Temari disbelievingly.

Kurono tightened his lip and regarded her. And then he opened up his mouth to speak.

"Are you moving us out of here because I don't like it," He stated pompously.

Temari leant back and appeared slightly confused. "Well we can't move very fast on this road because-"

"I don't care about what you have to say, I just want to get out of here," Kurono replied. Temari growled and grinded her teeth together. Shikamaru glared at the kid angrily. Temari went out of her way and tried to be gentle and this is how he acted.

"Now look here kid, I know you feel vulnerable about what happened last night and you are defending yourself but you cannot act like this, you understand?"

"Shut up, commoner." Shikamaru was taken aback like Temari. He was about to reply before Temari took matters into her own hands.

"Now you look here you little brat. You do not speak to me with that attitude and you certainly don't treat Shikamaru like that. He is a jounin and you must respect him. Just because you are royalty doesn't make you anymore important to me."

Kurono glared at her in return and sniffed stubbornly. "You are just jealous that you aren't a royal like me, you are just being mean because you're jealous. I don't have to respect anyone."

Temari snapped. She grabbed the prince by the collar and lifted him off the ground.

"Temari!"

"Shut up!" She ordered. She looked back to the boy in front of her face. "Actually you know what, brat. I don't want to be like you, in fact I hate being like you. Yeah that's right, look surprised. I am like you. In reality, I'm a princess of sorts. Daughter to the Kazekage and sister to the new one." She judged up the little prince who now looked lost for words. "And I hate it and I don't find myself any more important than anyone else. You can't hide behind royalty as a reason for your actions. In actuality you are just a spoiled brat!"

_Chink!_

"Temari!" Shikamaru shouted.

"I know!" Her reaction had been lightning fact, purely based on reflexes. The prince now laid at her feet a few metres away from a kunai embedded deep in the ground where they had been a second ago.

Ino reared in a panic and rushed forward towards the light and charged causing Shikamaru, Kurono and Temari to avoid him. Before they could react he made a break for the exit and escaped into the daylight. Shikamaru got up off the ground quickly.

"Show yourself!" Shikamaru ordered.

"Oh, look, the little leaf nin is getting bossy," someone taunted.

"That won't do at all…"

Shikamaru kept his distance as the three shinobi dropped from the shadows in front of them. Kurono scuttled behind Shikamaru in fright.

One woman with long baby blue hair that ended at her waist laughed cruelly. Her eyes were crystal clear and she wore a pristine white kimono.

"Shut up, Fuu, I can't stand your laugh," another snapped. This woman had dark blue hair that was cut sharply below her chin. Her eyes were crystal clear like her sister's and she wore a dark grey low cut shirt and shorts with bindings.

"Well, I can't stand your face!" The other replied childishly.

"Fuu, Rei! Stop arguing!" The third shinobi scolded. This one was a man with powder blue hair that swept across his face. Just like his sisters' eyes; his eyes were crystal clear. He worse a uniform that closely resembled Shikamaru but it was light grey and he wore no mesh.

"Aoi's right, we should welcome our new… visitors," The one named Fuu said with a deadly grin.

"We were just passing by; wanted to see the neighborhood." Temari replied slyly. The woman called Rei laughed loudly.

"Temari," Shikamaru whispered in warning. "Stop taunting them!"

"I'm sure you were, Princess." Suddenly a sharp transparent whip like strand shot out of her knuckles. "But you see…" She lovingly stared at the whip. "We were given orders to end your little travel."

"What my dear sister means to say is, this is the end of road for you two," Aoi stated confidently.

Shikamaru furrowed his brows. His brain worked furiously trying to figure out a strategy. If only he knew what they were dealing with! He needed more time.

"Fine then." Temari laughed and grabbed her fan and withdrew it slowly. "We'll play how you want."

"Temari!" Shikamaru shouted. This woman! How could she - She can't just jump into battle!

Temari ignored him and smirked dangerously at the three shinobi in front of her who were grinning confidently.

"But I'm just warning you." She drew her tessen in front her and whipped it open completely, displaying all three moons. "I play to win."

x. .X. .x

"Update."

"Hai, Hiroshi-sama. Aoi, Rei and Fuu have intercepted the Konoha ninja. Kurono should be returned to you shortly."

"Excellent."

Laughter.

"Everything is going according to plan."

* * *

_A/N: It is finished!_

_Finally after all this time!_

_I cannot even begin to explain the hardships I have gone through with this thing. But I'll try. Around Janurary I dislocated by finger on my right hand so I couldn't write for a bit. Then I was hit with work at school and then I had writers block. Towards February my finger was ok but I began to extensively plan the story (this will help in future) and you can see the work I put in. Well you sill see ;) Around March I ripped my fingernail on my right hand and I couldn't type because it was too sore and then I wasn't motivated to write._

_So here I am, around 4 months later and this chapter is done! Hopefully the writing will come more naturally now because I know exactly what happens from here on out!_

_Please, please show that you still love me and review._

_I've worked so hard and experienced pain!_

_P.S. A new story that I'm working VERY hard on will be published before this is updated. Keep your eyes open!_

_Ze-chan  
_


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